Return To Me
by missingJane
Summary: 3 men have disappeared in a small forgotten town. One of them is an FBI agent. Dennis Abbott offers the services of his three best people to help the local FBI find their man. Will any of them make it back to Austin alive? What secret is the town of Lost Wells hiding from the outside world? When Jane, Cho and Lisbon arrive, their lives will take a sudden turn for the worse!
1. Much Ado About Nothing

**Well the writing bug has bitten me again, so here we go with a new story. Enjoy!**

Return to Me

Chapter 1

Much Ado About Nothing?

The pile of books in the small condo was growing taller by the day. One more addition, and the whole lot of them would be toppled into a pile all over the living room floor. Teresa never minded that Patrick read so much, it's what made him so well informed and interesting to speak with. Because of his love of reading, Teresa had started to read much more than police reports and fluffy romance novels herself, so really, it was all good...except for the mountain of books on every surface in the small condo. Almost all of these books belonged to Patrick, so Teresa couldn't get rid of them, instead, she had been on a campaign lately for her lover to take books from the large library in downtown Austin instead of constantly buying more books to add his personal library, now located in her house.

Eyeing the flow of his most prized possessions throughout her small home, Teresa had to laugh at the sight of it all. She loved Patrick more than life itself, and this relationship was something she could only have dreamed about until recently, when they finally confessed their love for each other. Now Patrick was busy renovating a small tumble down house by a pond just outside Austin proper, which he had purchased on a whim, and once it was done, she would move there with him to start a new phase of her very unusual life with him. But for now, she had to find a better spot for all of these darned books!

The ringing of her cell phone distracted her from her musings about the state of her condo since Patrick moved in with her. Seeing that it was Cho on the line, she quickly switched gears and became an agent in a nanosecond.

"Whaddawe got?" Lisbon asked, verbal shorthand so deeply ingrained in her that she had to remember to speak in full sentences if anyone other than FBI agents or Patrick called.

"Three missing men, all around early 40's, no sign of them for months. All in the area of Lost Wells, just outside Laredo. Boss wants us to investigate and find them ASAP."

"Why us Cho? Surely local PD would be working this case for their precinct?" Lisbon asked, not understanding why three missing men in a small town in Texas was their concern.

"Ordinarily it wouldn't ever cross our desks, but one of the men is an FBI agent out of Houston. Abbott is friends with the Special Agent in Charge over there and was asked to lend a hand. It's a personal favour."

"Hmmm...Ok. So, an agent goes missing in Lost Wells...never heard of it. Do we know why the agent was there in the first place?" Teresa asked, more interested now.

"He grew up not far from there, was back home closing up his Grandmother's house as she had recently died. Should have been a quick visit, in and out. He never made it back to Houston and no one has found a lead yet" Cho explained.

"Could have decided to leave the life behind and pull a runner to a beach somewhere" mused Teresa.

"Could have, but he was in line for a promotion, was working on writing some exams to step up into a leadership role at his office. Seems he was a dedicated agent and not in any hurry to become a civilian again. So, that's a dead end" Cho said.

"How soon do we leave?" Teresa asked.

"Abbott wants us to be at the Airport tonight, you, me, and Jane. We'll fly out at 8 and should expect to be there for at least 3 days. Work for you?" he asked in his usual clipped manner.

"I guess it will have to. When Jane gets in I'll tell him the latest. See you at the airport."

"See you."

Lisbon hung up the phone and headed for the bathroom for a quick shower before she began to pack a small bag. Supper would have to be ordered in and eaten quickly before they left for Austin Bergstrom Airport. As the hot water rained down on her, Teresa considered how a well trained FBI agent could suddenly go missing on such a benign trip to a small town in the middle of nowhere. Surely with his training he would be able to get himself out of a situation against a local hoodlum. Were gangs even a thing out there in Lost Wells? She would have to do some research while they killed time on their flight, short as it would be.

By the time she emerged from the shower Patrick had arrived home from his trip downtown to the library, a few new books carefully chosen to occupy his curious mind tucked under his arm.

"Teresa? You up there?" he yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Just drying off, come up and take a shower! We have a case out of town!" she called back, rubbing her hair dry as she gazed at her closet, deciding what to take for such a short trip.

A moment later two large warm hands were massaging her moist shoulders as a kiss was delicately placed between her shoulder blades.

"Did you say we're going away?" Jane mumbled, trying his best to undo her heavy towel while she held on tightly. Much as she enjoyed his romantic overtures, she just didn't have time for it right now. Turning to face her smiling lover, she hated to disappoint his enthusiastic intentions.

"Unfortunately, yes. Cho just called and we have to be at the airport soon to catch a flight to Houston. An agent from the office there is missing in a town called Lost Wells and our help has been requested."

"Pffft! Those big bad FBI agents in Houston can find one of their own in a tiny town without our help. Whose idea was this anyway?" Jane groused, seeing that his chances of a roll in bed were slim to none tonight.

"Abbott asked for us specifically, as a favour to his friend at the FBI office in Houston. We can't refuse. Shouldn't be too hard...how big is Lost Wells anyway?" Teresa asked as she quickly dressed in black jeans, a ruby t-shirt and comfortable black ankle boots. Even without jewellery or makeup she looked impressive, gifted by nature with thick lustrous hair and a naturally beautiful complexion. Jane sighed in resignation as he stepped around her to run the shower for himself. If Abbott promised his friend at the FBI in Houston that his people would help, then it was a done deal. Hopefully they would be home by mid-week. At least he had some new books to read while he was away…

Teresa ran downstairs to call in an order of Chinese food while Jane was in the shower. Then she pulled together her belongings and jammed them into her suitcase, making sure she had everything she needed. 40 minutes later she and Jane were eating a delicious take out meal while they discussed the town of Lost Wells, thanks to the internet's help.

Cho was already seated with his boarding pass when Teresa and Patrick arrived in the waiting room at the airport in Austin.

"Cho. Is it just the three of us?" Jane asked, looking around for Wylie or Abbott.

"Yup. Abbott got tied up at the office and can't come. Wylie is needed for training some new recruits so it's just us."

"I hope this turns out to be a big misunderstanding. The agent turns up looking foolish, everyone pretends they didn't over-react and we get to come home. Done!" said Jane, smiling at the certainty that this was a wild goose chase.

"I hope you're right" smiled Lisbon, taking a seat next to Cho while Jane went off in search of...whatever Jane looked for in an airport. Why sit down until you had to? Once on the plane interesting places to wander were sadly lacking, so, he wandered now, while he had the chance.

"Be back here in 10 minutes!" Lisbon warned Patrick, worried he would get busy talking to someone or he would find a magazine that took his attention away from gate announcements.

"Yes Mom" he quipped as he sauntered off.

Cho watched Jane stroll off into the crowd, then turned back to Lisbon.

"It's like travelling with a two year old."

Lisbon smiled at the receding form of her man and nodded in agreement.

"It certainly is…"

Lisbon switched on her laptop to research the town of Lost Wells a bit more while Cho kept his nose buried in a book. Lost Wells was a small town of only 800 people. While it had once been a booming centre of commerce 100 years ago, the oil wells had dried up decades earlier, and when they left, so did most of the townsfolk. Only stubborn die-hards remained, most of them nearing or over retirement age. Once local kids graduated from high school, they left, almost never to return to the dying town. Crime was non-existent, and the local police station had pulled out years ago. Anything of a criminal nature could called in to the State Troopers one town over. The online write up was short and depressing and Lisbon felt that whatever was waiting for them in Lost Wells, it wouldn't be excitement.

She was wrong.


	2. Welcome to Houston

Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the first chapter. Nice to hear from so many of my online writing friends and some new reviewers as well! Since the weekend is soon going to be upon us, I thought I would sneak in another chapter to tide us over until the new week. Enjoy!

Return To Me

Chapter 2

Welcome to Houston

The flight to Houston was short and boring, but Jane made it to the gate on time, so all things considered, so far...so good, thought Lisbon. Senior Agent Calderone of the Houston FBI office had arranged hotel rooms for the Austin agents and so they drove directly to their hotel immediately upon touching down in Houston. The rooms were adequate but not luxurious and Cho, Jane and Lisbon gratefully dropped their bags on the floor of their rooms, a night of relaxation ahead of them before they plunged into work in the morning. Abbott had discreetly suggested to Agent Calderone that only two rooms were needed for his three agents. Calderone assumed that Jane and Cho would occupy one room, and Agent Lisbon would get a room of her own. Instead, Cho took one room for himself and Jane and Lisbon entered the other room together. What Calderone didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and thanks to Abbott, Cho didn't have to pretend that Teresa and Patrick were not a couple.

Surveying the room, Jane flopped down on the bed and lay back with his hands clasped behind his head.

"We must thank Agent Calderone for choosing a decent hotel" he said, appreciating the quality mattress and adequate decor.

"Well enjoy it while you can. I have a feeling that accommodations in Lost Wells will be sadly lacking in charm" agreed Lisbon. "Apparently the town has one motel, one diner, one junior school and one high school and almost no employment opportunities. Anyone going there is most likely just passing through. Unless locals saw any of the three missing men, we will be hard pressed to find anything new in the way of evidence of foul play in their disappearances."

"Glad to see you did your research Teresa. Sounds like a dismal place, but we can't assume just yet that the men are dead or otherwise the victims of foul play" Jane said sensibly. "So far, they are just missing."

"I know...but no one has heard from any of them for a long time. Surely they would have made contact with family, or friends at some point in the last half year or so" Lisbon added.

Jane started to take off his jacket and vest, tossing them onto a side chair near the bed. Next came his shoes and then his belt. Lisbon busied herself getting her night clothes out of her suitcase and when she turned around to speak to Jane again, he was under the sheets wearing nothing but a smile. A long elegant finger beckoned her to join him in bed.

"Is that your best attempt at luring me into a sexual encounter mister?" Lisbon asked him, pulling her t-shirt over her head with a grin. "Weak...very weak…"

Jane grinned mischievously and leapt out of the bed, grabbing Teresa in his arms and pulled her back onto the mattress.

"I can go all cave man on you if that's what turns your crank" he whispered in her ear as she struggled to get her pants undone.

"I think somewhere in between might just do the trick" she smiled as Jane helped her pull her jeans down and off her ankles.

"In between is a specialty of mine" Jane announced as he kissed her neck, proceeding down to her breasts and navel.

"Talk is cheap" breathed Lisbon as Jane nipped her belly, making her toes curl. "Actions speak louder than words I'm told."

"I'll shut up then" whispered Jane as he held Lisbon in his arms and smothered her in a deep kiss.

Things were proceeding nicely until Lisbon's cell phone rang, immediately forcing a disappointing lull in Jane's plans for the evening.

"Don't pick it up" Jane moaned, rubbing Lisbon's naked back.

"Shh! Of course I have to answer it...it's Cho!" she answered with regret. Slipping out of Patrick's arms, Lisbon sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone.

"Cho? What's up?"

"I just got a call from Abbott. Looks like he can't make it to Houston after all and wants us to take lead on this investigation."

"Ok, I take it Calderone knows already?"

"Yep, he's good with it. Also, the Feds did a sweep of a plot of land outside of Lost Wells on a tip. They turned up something interesting."

"How interesting Cho?" Lisbon asked, fearing the worst.

"A dead body, male, blonde, about early 40's. Could be one of our missing men. Forensics will be going over to the site tonight and again at first light tomorrow. Autopsy will be done in the morning to determine cause of death."

"Not much for us to do tonight then" answered Lisbon, gazing at Jane with a wink.

"No, but we should get an early start in the morning. Join me in the hotel restaurant at 6:30 am?" Cho asked.

"We'll be there. Thanks for the update Cho."

"G'night."

Lisbon put down the phone and turned to face Jane.

"We have a body. Could be one of our missing men."

Jane sat up and reached for Lisbon as she snuggled up close to his chest.

"Odd, don't you think?" Jane mused.

"Odd? Why, how?"

Jane leaned back against the headboard deep in thought.

"Nobody has seen the missing men for months and months, no leads, no clues, nothing. Suddenly a body shows up just when the Feds take over the investigation" Jane said, considering the timing of the discovery.

"Or, someone finally got scared enough to say something once they saw the FBI jackets on the investigators. Feds can be pretty intimidating" replied Lisbon, trying to find another explanation for the sudden appearance of a corpse. "Knowing where a dead body is must be a heavy burden on your conscience."

"Mmmm...maybe...we'll know more when we see where the body was found. I want to be there to see the lot before everything gets trampled by the local PD" he said thoughtfully.

"We'll meet Cho for an early breakfast downstairs then go right over to the location of the investigation. We better get some sleep Jane. Tomorrow could be a very busy day" Lisbon told him, putting romance on the back burner for now. Time enough for that another day.

"Killjoy" Jane muttered, disappointment evident on his face, but he didn't press the issue. Lisbon was right, they needed to sleep now and get up early. As Lisbon disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for bed, Jane swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his pajama bottoms on in resignation, then joined Lisbon for tooth brushing and a quick wash before they turned in for the night. Business before pleasure.

At the appointed time the next morning, Cho met up with Jane and Lisbon to discuss the latest information over a hot breakfast. By 8 am all three were pulling into the parking lot of the Houston FBI headquarters.

Agent Calderone was waiting for them at the security desk and within minutes was escorting them to his private office upstairs.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, I appreciate Dennis Abbott's offer to help" he said, indicating chairs for them to sit and relax in while they talked. Cho and Lisbon sat, while Jane strolled around the office, taking in Calderon's many awards and citations. From all appearances, he was a very accomplished FBI agent.

"We're happy to help. Cho tells me a body was found in Lost Wells last night" said Lisbon, wanting to get down to business so that ultimately, they could be on their way home to Austin as soon as possible. "How did that happen?"

"Good question. We've searched that lot before and found nothing, but late yesterday a passerby said he noticed a strange pile of garbage that shouldn't have been there. He went over to check it out and under an old rug, he found a body. It wasn't there the day before, so someone went out of their way to place it there yesterday" Agent Calderone explained.

"Knowing full well that it would be discovered quickly by someone nosey" added Jane, smiling at his host.

"Exactly. Whoever had the body or killed the man, was fine with him being discovered. Why, we don't know."

"Can we head over there and check it out ourselves?" asked Cho, eager to see where the body had been discarded.

"Certainly. We'll all go. A fresh set of eyes never hurts" added Calderone.

Lisbon and Cho stood up and followed Jane out of Calderone's office as he led the way out of the building. They took Calderone's FBI SUV and after a half hour drive, arrived at the crime scene to find it abuzz with activity. Yellow crime scene tape fluttered in the hot wind as forensic technicians hovered over piles of dirt and garbage, labelling and photographing everything. The body was already at the coroner's lab being prepped for an autopsy, so Jane had missed his chance to see it as it lay on the ground undisturbed. Disappointment was evident on his face, but there was nothing he could do about it now, unless…

"About our corpse...has the autopsy started?" he asked hopefully.

Calderone stopped his discussion of the crime scene with Cho and Lisbon to take in Jane's question.

"Uhhh...not sure...why?"

"I need to see the body" came Jane's clipped answer.

"It's not in good shape after all this time" Calderone suggested, not sure why the consultant would want to look at that spectacle. A squeamish man would turn and run at the sight of such a horrible sight. "I can check and see if Dr. Leon has started, but surely you don't need to view the deceased" he said.

Cho stepped in and joined the conversation.

"Actually, Mr. Jane does need to see the body, if that's still a possibility. OK with you?"

Calderone saw Cho's solemn face and felt the only acceptable answer would have to be 'yes' so he pulled out his phone and dialed Dr. Leon. After a short conversation he nodded his thanks and turned to the three Austin FBI agents.

"He's going to do the autopsy in an hour. Be there before then and you get to examine the body for clues. Work for you?"

"Yes, perfect. Thank you!" Jane said happily, now turning to gaze at his surroundings with renewed interest.

A few spectators stood outside the police barricade and watched the agents, local police and forensic investigators do their jobs. A ghoulish discovery always brought out a certain type of gawker, and this time was no different. Jane stopped for a moment and stared at the onlookers. Was the murderer standing there enjoying all the fuss he had created? Was one of the spectators the person who surreptitiously dumped a body only to wait for its discovery? Jane scrutinized the faces staring back at him and wondered about each one of them. He tried to memorize each face in case he needed to remember it at some point in the near future. You never could tell when such details would come in handy.

"Jane!"

Lisbon's voice roused him from his thoughts and pulled him back to the activity at the lot.

"This is where the body was found, under this rug" Teresa informed him.

Jane bent down and studied the spot, checking for any fluids or residue on the powdery earth that did not belong. There was nothing. Then he got down on his hands and knees and sniffed at the disgusting old rug. Lisbon and Cho just smiled as Jane proceeded to examine the rug like a dog would savour a juicy bone. The other agents from Houston regarded Jane with surprise and disdain. What was that man doing down there in the dirt?

After a few minutes, Jane stood up and patted the sand off his knees.

"Well?" asked Lisbon, knowing full well how Jane worked.

"Odd smell...can't place it...kind of like...a tired vacation…" he said thoughtfully.

Cho looked at him in consternation and had to ask the question.

"The rug smells like a tired vacation. What's a tired vacation?"

Jane looked up at his Asian friend and shrugged his shoulders.

"Uh...not sure...not yet" he answered before turning to study the rest of the vacant lot for clues. Cho just watched him go in silence before facing Lisbon.

"How do you live with him?" Cho asked her before he wandered off to talk to other agents on site.

"I have no idea" she answered quietly to herself as she headed in Jane's direction.

A half hour later Jane was on his way to the coroner's office courtesy of Agent Calderone. Cho and Lisbon tagged along to view the body and make sure Jane didn't piss off anyone there while he examined the anonymous corpse.

After donning masks, gowns, booties and gloves, Cho, Lisbon and Jane were allowed to enter the cold tiled room where the deceased man lay on a steel table. Jane swallowed his immediate feelings of repulsion in order to gather information. Odd that he could unemotionally examine a body when found in situ, but once it had been moved, undressed and laid out on a slab, it seemed so much more gruesome. Shaking these depressing thoughts out of his mind, Jane stepped up to the table and gazed at the dead man resting under a crisp white sheet. He was of average height, maybe 5' 9 inches tall; longish dirty blonde hair, pale eyes ghosted over in death, but they may have been blue or green in life; he was well muscled but not like a bodybuilder, so he took care of his body somewhat; his hands were uncalloused, so he didn't work as a labourer; a long scar ran up the man's left leg, so he had had surgery for a serious illness or injury at some point. A few other points of interest revealed themselves to Jane's scrutiny, but overall, it seemed that the deceased was quite possibly educated, worked in a corporate situation, once had possibly done some risky things that led to corrective surgery. Jane gently lifted the sheet to study the man's torso. He was tanned and without tattoos, pale skin on his fingers revealed that he wore rings, several of them. Taking one last look, Jane put the sheet back on the man and stepped away from the table.

"Got what you need?" whispered Lisbon.

"Yes. Let's get out of here" he answered, peeling off his gloves as he headed for the door.

"Thank you" Cho said to the coroner as he joined his colleagues as they left the chilly room. Once they were gone, the coroner began his grisly work.

The sun felt good on their cold skin as Cho, Lisbon and Jane walked back to the SUV with Agent Calderone.

"Well? What did our mystery man reveal to you?" asked Calderone, not unkindly. Abbott had forewarned his friend about Jane's unorthodox methods, and he had also warned him not to antagonize Jane when he did something unusual. If Calderone could manage that, the investigation would proceed nicely.

Jane leaned against the car drinking water from a sweating bottle.

"Educated, at least college level, maybe university; works as a teacher or manager of some sort where the dress code is relaxed, maybe in IT; used to play sports or at least tried to be daring at some point; likes the sun and jewellery. So a bit flamboyant. Takes care of himself physically. Went on a vacation recently, most likely further South than Texas. Until I see his clothing I can only guess at the rest, but I'd say we're looking at a professional man who had no intention of staying in Lost Wells. He was just passing through until someone changed his plans for him."

"You got all that from looking at a naked corpse?" asked the surprised FBI agent.

"Didn't you?" Jane answered, hopping up into the car to escape the blinding sun. As Calderone sat behind the wheel, he turned to add his own thoughts to the conversation.

"Fingerprints have been sent out for a possible ID on our John Doe. Let's see how close you are to the mark on his lifestyle" he smiled at Jane.

"Looking forward to it" Jane grinned as the vehicle pulled away in a cloud of dust.

Lunch was a quick burger at a roadside diner midway between the coroner's office and FBI headquarters. As Cho and Jane sat down at the same table with Lisbon and Calderone, the agent's cell phone rang.

"Calderone...yes...really?" He listened intently and smiled to himself. "OK, follow up as much as you can and get back to me with more details. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Bye!"

Calderone pocketed his phone and turned to the expectant faces of the people from Austin.

"We have a name. Martin Valeriote. A junior college instructor from Galveston. Played some high school football before an injury sidelined his hopes for a career in sports. Enjoyed travel, most recently in Mexico where he bought a few pieces of silver jewellery for his sister, mother, and a couple of rings for himself."

Turning to Jane, he smiled deeply.

"You were right on all counts. I don't know how you did it but you nailed it. The only thing you didn't get was his name."

Jane popped a french fry into his mouth and smiled. When he paused to take a drink, he felt he owed Agent Calderone an explanation.

"The tan was intentional, like he had made sure his body got the maximum amount of sun except for where his swimsuit was, so, a vacation in the South, Mexico; his hands showed white patches where his rings blocked the sun so he liked jewellery; his hair was longer than a bank manager or stuffy office HR department would allow, so I considered that he was either self employed, worked in IT, which is famously uncaring as to how their employees dress or groom themselves, or, teaching in a college or university setting, which also has a more casual environment than a high school where teachers are supposed to be role models."

Calderone lifted his glass of water in a salute to Jane's talents and leaned back in his chair.

"Well done. I'm impressed. I have agents on the road right now who will interview Valeriote's family and friends for more about his recent activities and why he was here, so far from home."

"Can I look at his personal effects?" Jane asked. "Clothes will tell a lot about his final day."

"Sure, I expected you'd want to see them. They will be brought up from the evidence locker when we get back to the office. Abbott was right, you three are good" Calderone smiled.

"Flattery will get you everything" laughed Lisbon as she bit into her deep fried pickle.

"That's my plan!" agreed Calderone, turning to his food with gusto.

Jane grabbed his dripping pulled pork burger with both hands and took a deep bite. All things considered, the day was going very well so far. Hopefully, by tonight, they would have a solid lead on what was happening in the sleepy little town of Lost Wells.


	3. A Shocking Theory

Wow thanks to everyone who has favourited this story. Here's another chapter to tide you over.

Return to Me

Chapter 3

A Shocking Theory

The group of investigators settled down to enjoy their food before they returned to work, but gradually, Calderone's good mood seemed to be waning. No longer plowing through his food with gusto and joining in with their conversation, the Houston FBI agent had grown silent as his burger was left half finished on his plate. He picked at his french fries and seemed a bit off, his earlier enthusiasm replaced by a new worry. Jane noticed that Calderone appeared disturbed by the phone call he had received. This Martin Valeriote information was a disappointment to the Agent for some reason.

Pushing his plate away, Jane leaned back in his chair and fixed his gaze upon the Houston Senior Agent in Charge.

"So this Martin Valeriote isn't the man you hoped he'd be. One of the missing men. What's going on?" he asked. Cho and Lisbon stopped chatting to hear Agent Calderone's answer.

The burly man wiped his mouth with a napkin and placed his hands on either side of his lunch plate. He looked off into space before he raised his eyes to Jane and the others from Austin.

"You're right, I'm not happy about Mr. Valeriote, the poor bastard. We came here because three men are missing, one of them one of my best agents. But Martin Valeriote is not one of those three men. He is now a fourth person of interest. We didn't even know he was missing until he showed up dead. Is this a random thing, a coincidence?"

Before Jane could speak up, Cho did.

"There is no such thing as coincidence. Especially not here."

Jane smiled at his friend and colleague and picked up the thread.

"A town as small as Lost Wells is not downtown Chicago, where bodies show up in alleys and rivers all the time. I would assume there hasn't been a major crime of any sort in Lost Wells in decades...until now."

"You're right. A crime wave in Lost Wells is usually some kids knocking over mailboxes at midnight. Now we have a dead man from Galveston" Calderone said solemnly. "Will the other men turn up dead too?"

"Are the 4 men in any way related? Through work, socially? Family ties?" asked Lisbon.

Calderone shook his head, no. "There is absolutely nothing that ties these guys together except they all drove through Lost Wells at some point and were never seen again."

Jane steepled his fingers in thought before speaking.

"Martin Valeriote could have been offered up to us as a distraction. If Lost Wells wasn't crawling with FBI agents and State Troopers, I think, in time, a Missing Persons report would have been filed for Valeriote as well. Before that happened, Valeriote was given to us as a gift, a puzzle piece. What we're looking at is a serial killer" Jane said with certainty.

"Whoa...whoa… hold up on that theory! Isn't that a bit premature?" said Calderone.

"Jane, no one else has been killed, not that we know of" said Lisbon, playing devil's advocate. "Until we see another body and perhaps find a link between those two victims, I think calling the perp a serial killer is a bit extreme."

Jane looked at his lover with a small smile. She always hoped for the best, until she was forced to admit the worst was at play.

"Much as I hope you're right Lisbon, I think we have to prepare ourselves for the appearance of more bodies. Without panicking the townsfolk of Lost Wells, we need to focus our investigation on finding a serial killer."

Calderone ran his hands through his rapidly thinning black hair and eyed his food with a sudden lack of appetite. God, if Patrick Jane thought it was a serial killer, this would change everything. He let Jane's extreme opinion drop for the moment.

"Are we done here?" he asked, standing up. "We need to get back to the office ASAP."

Cho, Lisbon and Jane all pushed their plates away and joined Calderone as he headed for the door. They rode in silence to the FBI headquarters mulling over Jane's pronouncement. For once, all three FBI agents hoped the consultant was completely wrong.

(FBI Headquarters, Houston)

Upon entering a large meeting room set up for brainstorming, Jane, Cho, Lisbon and some of Calderone's own men found a large rolling board had been placed in the room holding photos of the men who had been reported missing. The photo of the missing FBI agent was prominently centered on the board. One the far right side an old photo of Martin Valeriote had been taped to the board in haste.

Jane stepped up to the photo display and gazed at each of the faces looking out at him. Scanning the info on each man he realized why Calderone had not identified their corpse immediately upon its discovery last night. Taking decomposition into account, the man could easily have been confused with at least two of the other missing men. Tim Ellison was blonde or at least fair haired due to the effects of the sun, and the other man, Sam Banks, had light brown hair. They were of similar builds. The blonde haired man, Ellison, was younger than Banks by at least 10 years. He was unemployed and drifting across America, whereas Sam Banks was employed at an IT company in Houston. Banks and the agent Thomas were both professionals, educated and in their early 40's. Nothing much linked all three of them except for their youth and sex. But that was a pretty slim link. And now they had a new man to investigate, only the deceased man they had just seen in the morgue today was not listed as missing at all, at least not yet. In all likelihood, poor Martin Valeriote was still happily travelling towards home as far as his family and friends knew.

Calderone tapped his pen on the small podium at the front of the room to get everyone's attention.

"As you all know, we have a body in the morgue. We can't say for sure if he is in any way linked to the missing men" he said, casting a quick look at Jane's disapproving face. They were linked, Jane was sure of it.

"Agents Sorrento and Marks are speaking with Mr. Valeriote's family and friends at the moment. A report will be forthcoming soon. A time and cause of death is yet to be determined. Agents, we need to step up our efforts to find our friend and colleague Agent Robert Thomas. Now he is gone and we need to turn over every rock, speak to every citizen of Lost Wells until we find out what happened out there. You have your files with your assignments. Report back to me as soon as anything turns up. Thank you gentlemen."

The agents got up and studied the board with renewed determination while Cho and Jane sat down at the long table to discuss their next move. Lisbon wandered over and joined them.

"I think Calderone is holding himself together so far, but one more body and he might lose it" she remarked, studying the man as he gazed at the photo of his missing Agent.

"We'd feel the same way if Wylie or Abbott was out there somewhere unknown" said Jane sympathetically.

"Usually it's you we're looking for Jane" said Cho with a wry smile.

"I know...sorry about that. I am trying to remain un-kidnapped for once" he grinned.

"You'd better. Every time someone takes you I lose one of my nine lives" groused Lisbon, rubbing his arm lovingly. Cho looked away. He still had to wrap his head around the fact that Jane and Lisbon were an item... sheesh!

"So, what do we know?"" asked Lisbon.

Jane glanced up at the board and winced. Not much there to go on yet, but still, the men were linked somehow.

"Two of the men are strong, in their prime, fair haired...travelling through Lost Wells. Something made them stop and stay long enough to go missing. Kidnapped perhaps. Killed, most likely" Jane added, knowing he would get pushback until he was proven right. And he feared he would be proven right. "Then Martin Valeriote shows up. Blonde hair, early 40's. Another similarity."

"So white males, blonde or fair haired, alone and new to town. That's pretty thin Jane. And Agent Thomas has thick black hair and a mustache. Totally different from our other missing men" suggested Cho, looking for an anomaly in Jane's reasoning.

"Meh...so what? He went to Lost Wells, saw something he shouldn't have and someone got scared. He got too close to the truth, black hair or not...he had to be disposed of. As for Valeriote...did he die because his killer panicked and was afraid to keep him on ice while the FBI was in town?"

"Why are you so sure they're all dead?" pressed Cho.

Jane bit his lower lip. Staring at the smiling faces of Agent Thomas, Sam Banks and Tim Ellison, he shook his head in resignation.

"Because if they aren't dead, they'd be home by now."

Lisbon looked at Jane and let his statement go unchallenged. If he was wrong, he'd be happy to admit it. If he was correct, well then, they had a much bigger job waiting for them out in the country.

"We should get going, find the motel in Lost Wells and take a look around" said Cho sensibly, seeing the other agents gradually file out of the meeting room.

"Agent Calderone has given us a car to use. I'll drive" Lisbon said, standing up and thus ending their short meeting. It would be a miracle if anyone in Lost Wells had anything new to tell them about their missing men. By now the initial buzz of excitement about having FBI agents roaming the main street of their small town had most likely worn off, replaced by shock at the news of the discovery of a dead body. Shock and awe did bad things to a memory, so Cho and Lisbon held out very little hope of learning something relevant from the townsfolk of Lost Wells. Jane would be poking around in areas overlooked by the FBI and State Troopers, that was a given. If he could just stay out of trouble while doing it, their stay in Lost Wells would go smoothly.

Calderone was in the hall when the agents from Austin exited the meeting room.

"We're off to Lost Wells. If anything shakes loose, we'll let you know" Lisbon told him.

"Good luck. Thanks Agents" Calderone said before getting waylaid by his assistant with a question. By the time he looked up again, Jane, Cho and Lisbon had disappeared into an elevator and were out of sight.

The short drive to the dying town of Lost Wells took very little time as the traffic on the highway was all going in the opposite direction, towards something exciting and new, and away from a place whose time had come and gone long ago.

The Mercury Motel sat on a large plot of land just inside the town limits, before the main street and the few shops and businesses to be found there. There were a couple of cars in the parking lot outside rooms, so Jane, Lisbon and Cho wouldn't be the only guests staying for the next few days. Cho and Jane entered the motel office to arrange the rooms while Lisbon walked around the grounds, stretching her legs and enjoying the cooling air now that the sun was getting lower in the sky.

A good looking woman of about 50 stood behind the desk in the office and broke into a beaming smile when Cho and Jane entered.

"Welcome to the Mercury Motel."

"Thanks. We need two rooms for two days, maybe three" said Cho, straight to the point.

Smiling still, the woman checked her reservations book and circled two rooms close together.

"I have room 10 and room 12 available. Sorry, there is no on-site restaurant but the Diner in town is quite good. I will bring fresh coffee 'round in the morning and leave it outside your door."

"Thanks, very kind of you" said Jane, leaning on the counter and giving the woman one of his mega-watt smiles. She responded as all women did when he directed his charms at them, she blushed.

"Is there any tea in the room or is coffee the only beverage available?" he asked.

"Oh, ah...if you prefer tea, I can leave some for you sir. I'll put you in room 12 and make sure you have a choice of tea tomorrow morning" she agreed, eager to make this handsome man happy.

"You're a peach!" Jane grinned, filling in the register with his name and relevant information.

Cho stared at the exchange with his usual detached glare. Never in a million years would he master the gift of gab that Patrick Jane used when dealing with people he wanted something from, especially women. Of any age. Anywhere.

"If you need anything, just ask. My name is Maisie Lyons" the woman told him.

"Thank you Miss Lyons" Cho smiled, taking his key and turning to go. Just as they reached the door, a face appeared from behind a curtained doorway. Another Maisie! Stepping into the room, Maisie #2 stood twisting her fingers and smiling at Jane and Cho, but mostly Jane.

"Hi" the woman who was a spitting image of the motel manager squeaked out at the men.

"Hello" Jane replied, gazing from Maisie #1 to Maisie #2. "Let me guess...sisters?"

"Twins!" said the woman with pride. "We're just the same, aren't we Maisie?" the woman exclaimed, seeking affirmation from her sister behind the counter.

"Yes, for sure sweetie. This is my twin sister Margaret, or Maggie. She can help you as well if I'm away from the desk" Maisie informed Cho and Jane.

"Ok, good to know. Nice meeting you Margaret" Jane replied. Jane noted that Maggie was somehow delayed intellectually, but eager to please, like her sister. Jane smiled and waved goodbye as he left the room.

Cho strode towards the motel room without looking at Jane.

"What? What's eating you Cho?" Jane asked, seeing his friend's cold mood.

"How the hell do you do that? Every woman just falls over herself to give you whatever you want."

Jane caught up with Cho and laughed at his discomfort.

"Ah, no...not true. Earth to Cho, have you met Teresa Lisbon? I don't think she exactly threw herself at me for over 10 years."

Cho stopped and faced Jane, a slight grin on his frosty face.

"Lisbon's different. She's smart and not easily fooled. It took her 10 years to check you out. Give her credit."

"Oh I do, every single day. She get's all the credit in this relationship."

"Good."

They reached the doors to their rooms and parted ways. Turning to Cho, Jane had the final word.

"Good talk, thanks Cho."

Cho just smirked as he unlocked his door and stepped into his room.

Lisbon came around the corner of the building and caught up to Jane as he opened the door to their shared room.

"Your room awaits" he said with a flourish, before his face fell in disappointment. The room was straight out of the 1980's, with garish dusty rose and jade green wallpaper and a heavily patterned rug which clashed with just about everything in the room. Sniffing the air dramatically, Jane pulled a face and cautioned Lisbon.

"Don't go barefoot. Who knows what's embedded in this carpeting."

Looking down with chagrin, Lisbon recoiled slightly and nodded. "Agreed. Yuck!"

Jane strode over to their front window and opened it wide to let in some fresh if not exactly chilled air. The air conditioning unit was working just fine, but it just recycled the same old air for the time being. Opening up the back window in the bathroom afforded the room a cross breeze and finally, a fresh lungful of air.

"It's certainly not the Ritz, but I've stayed in worse places on stakeout" Lisbon admitted, lifting the bedspread off the queen sized bed gingerly with two fingers.

"Avoid sitting on that...God knows what has been on it recently" she said to Jane as she dumped it on a side chair. Jane took off his jacket and sat on the side of the bed.

"I could ask Calderone for a black light lamp to check for bodily fluids" he suggested unhelpfully.

"Ugh...don't even consider it. Just thinking about what it might reveal...I'll never get to sleep" Lisbon moaned.

"But then we would have to do something else to kill the long hours 'til morning" grinned Jane, doffing his old brown shoes.

"Wouldn't you like that!" Lisbon chided him, reaching for the phonebook on the table by the bed.

"So, supper later...eat in or venture into the deepest darkest heart of Lost Wells?" she asked as she flipped the pages looking for a chinese or pizza restaurant for takeout. When nothing showed up she remembered her research, only one diner in town. A moment later the phone rang and Jane answered.

"There's no pizza takeout or chinese or anything remotely resembling interesting food listed in the phonebook" Cho said with disappointment.

"So we discovered. Care to join us at the Texas Belle Diner after we walk around town?" Jane suggested.

"If we want to eat I guess we have no other choice. Later."

""See you outside in 30. Bye Cho."

Lisbon shook her head in resignation. "So, the Texas Belle it is. Pray they can cook or the next few days will be a slow death" she mumbled, not realizing the irony of her words considering why they were there in the first place.


	4. Meeting the Locals

Thank you for all of the great reviews. I will try to respond to all of them. Unfortunately I can't respond to the guest reviewers but thank you for your comments!

Return To Me

Chapter 4

Meeting the Locals

Jane took a quick shower and was feeling refreshed and curious to see what Lost Wells looked like by the time Cho knocked on the door a half hour later. Grabbing her shoulder bag, Lisbon followed Cho out while Jane locked up. The drive took all of 5 minutes and then they were at their destination.

Back at the motel, Maisie, the owner of the place, stood and watched the large black SUV pull out of the parking lot and head for town. She knew her guests had a limited choice in food and drink in Lost Wells. With so many police officers buzzing around, and strangers filling her rooms, she resolved to do some good old fashioned baking that evening to at least offer to her guests when she brought coffee 'round to their rooms in the morning. It was the least she could do to make them more at home.

(Lost Wells)

Stepping out of the SUV, Cho, Lisbon and Jane gazed up the street one way, and down the street the other way. The place looked tired, defeated, like the last few residents there had all but given up hope of making a go of things. The basic necessities were taken care of, like the Diner, and schools, but precious few stores remained to offer goods that could be purchased cheaper at the Target or Walmart one town over the county line. It was those giant stores that were killing small towns like Lost Wells now that the last of the local industries were shutting down. A few folks were out walking before suppertime, and kids on bikes raced up the dusty street, unafraid of the little traffic sharing the road with them. The town must have been a great place to live up until 10 or 15 years ago and Jane felt a sadness creep over him knowing that soon this place would just be a memory for all of these good people. They would move on to greener pastures, find jobs or retire somewhere more hospitable and closer to shops and some kind of night life. It was sad.

"So, where do you want to begin?" Cho asked, interrupting Jane's maudlin thoughts.

"If you go that way"Jane indicated, pointing towards the Baptist Church at the end of the street, "and we go this way" he pointed at the shoe shop and garage at the other end, "we can meet in the middle and compare notes. Then it should be time to hit up the Texas Belle for supper."

Cho gazed at his territory and shrugged in agreement. It didn't matter where he started. Chances are the people he'd interview were tired of answering the same old questions by now, the novelty of the missing men replaced by the gruesomely fresh murder.

"OK, see you later." Cho strolled down the street and entered the first business he came upon, while Jane offered Lisbon his arm as if they were strolling to Church on a Sunday morning.

"Lovely evening for a walk my dear" he mused aloud, eliciting a giggle from Teresa.

"Why Rhett Butler, you old charmer you...you do know how to woo a lady!" Lisbon said in her best Scarlett O'Hara voice.

"Why thank you ma'am" Jane smiled, tipping an imaginary hat to her. An older couple walking by stared at him but he didn't care. Fun was to be had at every opportunity when you walked with the woman you loved on your arm. Otherwise why get up in the morning? They stopped at the shoe shop and entered, glad it was still open.

The lone sales clerk jumped up from his chair, thrilled at the idea that someone might actually buy a pair of shoes from him.

"How can I help you? Shoes for the lady today?" he oozed, smiling like a Cheshire cat at Lisbon. "Such delicate feet deserve to be adorned in the latest fashions!"

"Ah...no..not for the lady" Jane said before he was cut off by the excited sales clerk.

"Of course, for you sir!" he said, casting his eyes down and eyeing Jane's scruffy and worn looking brown shoes. "I see you are in need of a new pair of brogues" he gushed, reaching for a pair of fancy brown leather shoes that would have suited Jane's grandfather.

"Sorry, not for me either."

The clerk's face fell as if someone had just kicked his dog. "Well then, how can I be of service today?" he asked, once again looking at the sad pair of shoes on Jane's feet as if they would somehow infect the other shoes in the store. "Shoe polish perhaps sir?"

"I'm Agent Lisbon with the Austin FBI, this is my Consultant Patrick Jane. We were wondering if you have any information that might be relevant to the investigation concerning the disappearance of three men..."

"Or...any information about the man who was killed and dumped in town sometime in the last 12 hours" Jane interjected.

The sales clerk clamped his jaw shut. Not all this again! He dropped all pretense of courtesy and revealed his true personality.

"Look, like I told the local police from the next County, and the Feds from Houston, I don't know anything. Those three missing men are strangers to me, and I certainly don't know anything about the poor dead man who was found today. Why would I?" he asked in frustration, all attempts at civility suddenly gone.

Jane glared at him and couldn't resist that challenging statement.

"Why wouldn't you? Aren't you smart enough to kill someone?"

"Of course I'm smart enough...I mean, wait...what? Who me? No, I'm not … I wouldn't …"

"So no, you aren't the killer or yes, you're smart enough to be one?" Jane continued, enjoying this little game.

"Jane!" Lisbon hissed.

"I'm smart enough Sir, but I wouldn't use my talents to plan a murder, if that is what you're insinuating!" the clerk barked, regaining some control of the conversation.

"No insinuation, just checking" Jane smiled at the sweating man. "From your reaction it's obvious you haven't killed anyone lately."

"JANE!"

"No I haven't! I mean, not at all, not just lately...Jesus!" the clerk stammered, totally flummoxed by this line of questioning.

"Get the hell outta my store! Both of you!" the man sputtered, pointing at the door as he walked over to open it.

"Thank you...you've been a big help" Jane smiled as he let Lisbon go through the door first, his hand guiding her by the small of her back.

When he was through the door himself, it slammed behind him and the 'OPEN' sign was reversed to say "CLOSED'.

Lisbon stood staring at Jane.

"Way to win friends. What was all that about?"

"Oh I was just having a bit of fun with him, that's all. He's obviously not guilty of anything more serious than being obsequious. And he didn't like my shoes."

Walking away from Jane, Lisbon called over her shoulder.

"News flash, no one likes your shoes."

Jane stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at his feet.

"Really? I thought they were all the rage…"

"Come on... let's get this done so we can eat at some point. And don't incite a riot at the next business!" Lisbon warned him as she walked ahead.

"You wound me…"Jane mumbled, pausing to wipe the dust off the toe of his shoe. "Don't listen to her, she's mean…"

Down the street, Cho ambled into a store selling spare parts for cars and just about anything else automotive. A fine layer of Texas dust lay over all of the previously shiny metal chrome parts lined up on shelving around the perimeter of the small store. To extent his profit margin, the proprietor of the business also sold vacuum cleaners.

"Good afternoon" Cho began, holding out his FBI badge to identify himself. "Kimball Cho, Austin FBI. Could I ask you a few questions?"

The man behind the counter was at least 60, a bit grizzled but clean, with neatly pressed clothes. He peered at Cho's ID tag with exaggerated concern, then sat back and folded his arms across his chest. He was actually getting used to talking to FBI agents.

"Ask away Agent Cho" he drawled.

"As you probably know, an FBI agent has gone missing after he came to Lost Wells to close up a house here once owned by his grandmother."

"Yup, I heard about that" the man interrupted Cho.

Cho showed a photo of Agent Thomas to the man and asked if he had seen him.

"Yup, I seen 'em. Long time ago. Came into the store just like you and asked me a buncha questions, bought some stuff then left" the man explained.

Cho produced the photos of the other missing men, including the recently acquired photo of Martin Valeriote.

"Did you see any of these men when they passed through town? Either here, or somewhere else in town?"

"Like in church or at the Texas Belle?" the man asked.

"Yes."

"Nope."

Cho sighed in exasperation. This man wasn't exactly a fountain of information. He tried a different tactic.

"If I asked you if anyone comes to mind who might do harm to a stranger passing through town, who would you immediately think of?"

The man behind the counter blew out a long breath, surprised by this new question. It was a doozy and he was temporarily stumped for an answer. Then his face lit up and he had a name.

"You thought of someone sir. Who is it?" asked Cho carefully, not wanting to spook the man if he had a lead.

"I don't like to tell tales outta school, if ya know what I mean...but...every town has someone who just doesn't fit in...kinda rubs everybody the wrong way...ya know what I mean?" he said to Cho.

"Yes, I'm familiar with the type" Cho answered, his pen and notepad at the ready. "Do you have a name sir?"

"Well I do."

Cho waited. And waited.

"The name sir?"

The man stood up and reached under the counter for a small white bag of candy and popped one into his mouth, chewing noisily while he watched Cho try to contain his impatience. Giving him a break, he broke into a smile and relented.

"Ah hell...I'm just havin' some fun with ya! It's me! I never did fit in with all the prissy folks here! I just show up, sell them what they need and then leave all them buggers alone! Ha ha you thought I was going to name someone else, didn't ya?" he laughed.

Cho put away his notepad and pocketed his pencil. He waited until the man behind the counter stopped guffawing and became serious again, such was Cho's glacial stare.

"Lives are at stake and you're jerking my chain. You really want to go down that road sir?" came Cho's icy reply.

"Ah...sorry about that...couldn't resist. So many damned cops around here lately I just wanted to have a bit of fun…" the man explained, uncomfortable under Cho's unrelenting scrutiny.

"Sir, a man is dead and three others are missing. When you're done playing games, give me a call if you recall anything that seems out of place or strange. The sooner we get everyone's cooperation, we'll leave Lost Wells and stop bothering you with all of these questions" Cho lectured him while handing him a business card.

"Yes sir, of course. Sorry...I meant no disrespect" the older man mumbled, thoroughly chastised.

Cho left the store and proceeded to the next business, already fed up with the task of eliciting information from people who were tired of being questioned. By the time he had been in and out of each business on his side of the downtown core, he doubled back to meet up with Jane and Lisbon.

"Any luck Cho?" Lisbon asked when they found each other.

"No. How'd it go for you?"

Before Lisbon could answer Jane piped up.

"Great!" he answered brightly.

"That depends on your definition of great Jane!" Lisbon barked.

Cho smirked as they walked towards the Texas Belle diner.

"What did he do this time?" he asked, eyeing Jane.

"Well half the town is in love with him and the other half of the town wants to tar and feather him, so I guess it was a wash. We got no new information to work with. The good people of Lost Wells are tired of dealing with Feds" Lisbon explained.

"I thought it went very well" Jane interjected. "We asked all the right questions and for the most part, people were truthful. I don't think anyone here took our men or killed anyone...except maybe for that shoe salesman…"

"Jane!"

"Relax Lisbon. The man was an officious dictator with a stick up his..."

"He was just doing his job. You just didn't like it that he thought your shoes were sadly in need of improvement" Lisbon reminded him.

"Let me guess, he tried to sell you new shoes?" Cho snorted as they arrived at the diner.

"Big mistake" Lisbon mumbled as she peered in the front window. .

"You two are like cats in a bag…" Cho observed as he held open the door to the Texas Belle.

The diner was a blast from the past, at least 60 years old with a lot of the original fixtures still in use. Large globe lights more commonly used in old school rooms hung from the ceiling casting light on booths arranged up both sides of the restaurant's walls. The floor space in the middle was taken up with random tables and chairs, mismatched but still cozy looking in the checkerboard linoleum way that old diners seemed to manage so well. Cheery red and white plastic table cloths draped the tables and paper placemats sat on the booth tables alongside the prerequisite ketchup, mustard and vinegar bottles. Greasy menus sat on the tables but the locals all knew what to order from long experience. An aluminum banded counter ran across the back of the diner with stools lined up in front to hold anyone who didn't manage to get a table on busy nights. A few teenagers were sitting at the counter drinking Cokes and eating french fries, dousing their stomachs with a chemical soup sure to speed up the next round of pimples and anxiety. The three agents stood looking for a booth or table but all were full. The discovery of a dead body in town had raised the level of speculation and gossip amongst the locals to a new level of hysteria and to get their thrills, everyone in town it seemed had descended on the Texas Belle to spew out their version of the latest news.

Sighing in resignation, Cho headed towards the counter at the back of the room while Lisbon and Jane followed behind. Conversation stopped at the tables they passed as the patrons recognized new strangers in their midst. Assuming these strangers were cops or Feds they gave them the once over before whispering behind their hands once again.

Cho sat at the stool the farthest away from the teenagers and indicated the spots next to him for Lisbon and Jane to take. The woman behind the counter spotted them and put three glasses of cold water in front of them before pulling a well chewed pencil from behind her ear to take their orders.

"What'll it be sugar?" she asked Teresa. Lisbon hadn't seen a menu yet so was at a loss for words.

Pointing up at a chalkboard, the waitress rambled off the specials for the night while Jane perused a menu he found on the countertop.

"Uh...I'll have a cheeseburger with onion rings and a large coffee please" Lisbon said in a rush, feeling pressured to make a decision.

"Ok sugar, and you?" the waitress asked Cho without looking up at him.

"I'll have a cold sweet tea, fried chicken with a side of home fries and corn" he said decisively, more hungry that he had expected.

"Good choice" the waitress said as she wrote down his order. Then she shuffled off to stand in front of Jane.

"What'll it be honey?" she asked without looking at him.

"Carol...is it?" Jane said, reading her name on the yellow plastic name tag the waitress wore. The woman finally looked up and saw Jane waiting patiently for her full attention.

"Ah...yes, it's Carol...what would you like tonight sugar?" she said a tad more softly than she had a moment before.

"Well everything looks wonderful on the menu and I am hard pressed to make a choice. What do you recommend Carol?" Jane asked the older woman. She was so used to being invisible that she was momentarily taken aback by this stranger's attention.

"Oh, ah...well, if it was up to me, I'd avoid the meat loaf...not so moist if you ask me...but the chicken pot pie is wonderful. Our cook makes excellent pastry. And the soup is also very good, especially the minestrone" she smiled.

Jane looked at the menu again for a moment then slammed it shut, handing it back to the astonished woman.

"Since you would know best, I will place my trust in you Carol. I'll have the soup and the chicken pie with a side tossed salad, along with a cup of hot tea" Jane said, smiling his thanks to the waitress as she scribbled down his order.

"I'll be right back with that sir" she smiled, then hustled away.

Turning to Cho and Lisbon, Jane saw them both staring at him.

"What?"

"Making new friends again Jane?" Lisbon smirked while Cho just shook his head.

"Lisbon, the way to get what you want from the townsfolk is to go to the source of all knowledge" Jane explained.

"That would be the hairdresser Jane" Lisbon correctly advised him.

Jane stopped for a moment to think about this and had to agree.

"OK, yes, they know everything, but after that, you make nice with the local wait staff at the only restaurant in town. If they don't know it, it isn't worth knowing" he said with certainty.

"So you plan on grilling Carol for the name of the kidnapper and murderer?" Cho said, swinging around in his seat to view the crowded room. "Because she knows of course…"

Jane swivelled around in his seat to gaze at the crowd as well, reading them from his stool like they were telegraphing their thoughts to him.

"She knows a lot, more than she realizes. She has watched the people in this town grow up, go to school, graduate, get married, get divorced, cheat and lie and scam each other. What she knows could fill a book, but she doesn't realize that one of these folks could be our perp. So, we get her to open up."

Lisbon watched Carol fly around the busy restaurant and knew she wouldn't have a moment to spare for Jane to work his magic with her, not today anyway.

"She's too busy tonight Jane. Good idea but wrong day."

"You're right of course but she will remember me tomorrow when I come back after breakfast when things slow down. I'll see what she has to say then."

Cho had to admit there was a point to Jane's approach that just might work, so he didn't shoot down his method. Charm could be weaponized after all.

In a surprisingly short time all three of them had a hot dinner placed in front of them, and Maisie Lyons was correct, the food was surprisingly good. It was home cooked, not out of a freezer or microwave oven and so the next little while passed quietly while supper was enjoyed in silence.

Gradually the restaurant crowd thinned out and Jane, Lisbon and Cho returned to their car for the short trip back to their motel. Carol watched them leave and hoped to see that nice man again. Then she turned back to washing down another sticky tabletop.


	5. Cause of Death

Here's an extra long chapter to tide you over for the long weekend we're having here in Canada. I'm not sure I'll be able to publish for 3 or 4 days. Thanks for all of the positive reviews. Sorry to those folks I haven't responded to yet, but I read the reviews you wrote and will get back to you, I promise. Ok, here goes. There's a lot of territory to cover.

Return To Me

Chapter 5

Cause of Death

Cho arrived back at the motel content to sit in the shade by his door reading a new book he had brought with him from home. Jane had brought two library books along, one for the plane and one to read at his motel if time allowed. Facing the prospect of sitting in his slightly smelly room or outside by the parking lot just to read was not very appealing, so Jane proposed to Lisbon that they go for a drive until it got darker.

"Shall we take in a bit more of Lost Wells while the sun is still up?" he suggested. "Beats sitting inside inhaling contaminants from the last half century."

"How could I refuse such a romantic proposal. OK" Lisbon agreed. Before she could grab the keys Jane snatched them up in his hand, heading for the SUV.

"Hey. I'm driving!" Lisbon shouted, running 'round the large vehicle.

Jane turned on the engine and gunned the motor. "Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of the motor! Hop in and we can go!" he shouted at her.

While Jane was a good driver, never having had an accident as long as Lisbon knew him, she still felt she was the more cautious driver of the two of them and so, she always wanted to be the one to commandeer the car keys. Jane was busy fiddling with the side mirrors and adjusting his driver's seat, ignoring her protests, so she finally gave up and trudged around to the passenger side. She slammed the door just loud enough to let Jane know she wasn't giving up, just making do.

"And we're off!" smiled Jane, taking off from their parking spot in a cloud of dust.

"Where to Jane?" Lisbon asked, seeing the town whizz by in a few minutes.

Jane rested his left arm out of the open window and let the wind blow through his hair. He enjoyed driving, especially this big behemoth from the FBI.

"Not everyone in Lost Wells lives in town. Let's see where where the other denizens are" he suggested, heading into the country. The miles rolled by, the scenery getting less green and more parched looking as he drove on. Eventually the paved road ran out after Jane turned down a side road, gravel and dirt flying off his back wheels. A farm with several other smaller out buildings was first on their left, the barn surrounded by a few straggly cattle and a long line of fencing leading to another farm a half mile away. Soon another farm showed up on the right, then a small gas station where the farmers could gas up their tractors and farm equipment. The odd house or two in between were set well back from the road, indicating the location of home owners who were not keen to live close to their neighbours. Looking far out into the scrubby landscape, a few more ranch style houses could be seen through the trees. Old abandoned oil derricks dotted the landscape here and there and what may have once been a horse ranch, passed under Jane's scrutiny. To check every building and drive shed in the countryside for clues as to where the missing men could be, would take a small army of men and several days to complete, but that is what Calderone wanted done. So far, the farms and houses that had been inspected had yielded nothing. Mile after mile, the scenery didn't change much and after a while, it got boring.

Lisbon watched it all go by in silence, amazed that people would live so far away from everything in the name of independence. Some of the houses looked like they had been built a hundred years ago, and were bleached white by the unrelenting sun. There were no lush gardens, no swimming pools, just low growing scrub brush, cacti and hardy plants she didn't know the names of. She couldn't imagine living here. The loneliness, even for one as independent as her, would drive her back to the city in a very short time.

Jane looked at the houses and ranches and wondered what these people knew about their neighbours in town. What secrets did they keep? Jane drove until the sun was low in the sky and he noticed Lisbon yawning. Without a word he turned the car around and made his way back to the edge of town. When they pulled into the motel parking lot he noticed Cho had gone inside. Jane opened the door for Lisbon and threw the keys into a dish by the door. Lisbon felt like she had half the dust of the backroads clinging to her skin and hair.

"Do you mind if I shower first?" Lisbon said, grabbing her bag.

"No problem, enjoy. I'll just check out the movies on offer on the TV" Jane answered, not ready to sleep yet. Before he had a chance to sit down his cell phone rang with a call from Cho.

"Cho, what's up?

"I got a call from Agent Calderone while you and Lisbon were out. The coroner's report came in and gave us a time and cause of death for Martin Valeriote."

"OK. Go on."

"He was murdered with a barbiturate, similar to Nembutal."

"When?"

"Based on the diffusion of the drug in his system, the coroner thinks he died sometime in the last 3 days. Needle mark on his arm was the only one, so we're not looking at a habitual drug abuser."

Jane ran a hand over his forehead. So poor Martin was alive at least 3 days ago. What happened then that led to his death?

"You still there?" Cho asked when Jane remained silent.

"Sorry Cho, just thinking. Thanks for the information. Gives us more to work with now. He could have committed suicide, except how did the body just show up on that empty lot outside town? "

"Yeah, unless he was one of the walking dead, it was administered to him and then he was dumped. Whoever killed him knew where to leave his body without being noticed. Nembutal is OK in small doses, even safe if administered correctly, but fatal in large amounts. Lots of old movies stars killed themselves using it back in the day. Valeriote would never have seen it coming."

"Nembutal...serious stuff. Isn't that what Vets use to euthanize animals, dogs, cats?" Jane asked, his random knowledge coming in handy now.

"Yes, and it's used for executions in some state prisons" Cho added.

"Why would anyone have that in their possession?" Jane asked.

"Find the drug, we'll find our killer" Cho said. "See you in the morning Jane."

"OK. Bye Cho."

Martin Valeriote was overdosed on purpose, for a reason, then discarded like garbage. Why? What would be the catalyst to leave his body in such a public place? And Nembutal was a deadly barbiturate if swallowed or injected. Almost any veterinarian had a similar drug to euthanize dogs and cats. Just who the hell were they dealing with here?

Jane sat thinking through this new information while Lisbon stepped out of the shower. When she joined him later, she was wearing a fluffy white robe and smelled of roses and vanilla. Jane hated to hit her with the latest news when they had looked forward to a pleasant evening of movies and cuddling. But such was their job and why they were here in the first place. Lisbon saw the serious look on Patrick's face and knew something had transpired while she was showering.

Jane patted the sofa cushion beside him and called Lisbon over.

"What is it? What happened?" she asked, fearing a new body had been discovered.

"We have a cause of death and a time of death for Valeriote" Jane told her, explaining Cho's call and the findings from the autopsy report.

"I don't like this Jane. This wasn't just an act of passion, a quick murder due to anger or a fight. This took planning. What the hell are we up against here?" Lisbon asked when she heard that a barbiturate had been used. This was some serious shit they were dealing with.

"I don't know. Not a clue" Jane admitted, thrown a bit by this new revelation. Before he had a chance to discuss it more with Lisbon, a light tap on the door distracted him.

"Cho?" he called, getting up to answer the door.

He pulled it open only to find Margaret waiting for him on the other side.

"Oh, hello again."

"Hello again too" Margaret said, blushing beet red. She stared at Jane for an uncomfortable amount of time before speaking. Jane gave her all the time she needed. Taking a deep breath and speaking as if she had been programmed, she said, "My sister told me to bring you some more towels in case you didn't have enough towels so I brought you some towels."

Maggie spoke as if as if she had memorized her little speech, her sister's voice clear in her mind. She held the towels close to her chest and made no attempt to hand them over to Jane.

"That's very kind of you, thank you."

Jane waited for her to give him the towels, but she just stood and stared at him, unsure what to do now that she was face to face with the man. She seemed mesmerized.

"I know you" Maggie said mysteriously with a smile.

"Yes, you do. And I know your sister too" Jane said, surprised by her comment. Seeing her unease, he tried to help her relax.

"Shall I take those from you?" Jane asked, trying to be helpful. He reached out to take the towels and accidentally brushed the woman's clenched fist with his hand.

"Oh...wow! Uh...sorry. Here, take them!" Margaret said in a rush, embarrassed and not sure what to do in the company of this man. She thrust the towels out at Jane then turned on her heel and walked off in a rush. Jane stepped out onto the sidewalk and called after her.

"Thank you Margaret!"

She didn't turn around to acknowledge his remark but kept her head down, talking to herself furiously. Jane smiled at her attempt to be helpful and went back into the room. He put the towels on the small shelf in the closet and returned to the sofa to sit with Lisbon. A nice glass of wine would have been welcome just about now, but they hadn't thought to buy a bottle while in town today. Jane made a mental note to remedy that situation tomorrow.

"I wonder what the story is with Maisie and Maggie?" Lisbon asked, feeling certain that there was one.

"Don't know. Do you think they're the evil masterminds behind all the kidnappings and a murder? Maisie seems pretty shady to me" smiled Jane, trying to ease the heavy mood that had descended on their small room. Maisie was about the last person he thought was capable of committing murder.

"Yup, serial killers, both of them. We'd best stay on their good side" snorted Lisbon as she reached for the remote.

"Will do…" said Jane, putting his arm around Teresa and snuggling deeper into the well worn sofa, glad to have her by his side tonight and every night.

Just as the movie was about to begin the phone rang again. This time Lisbon answered.

"Lisbon."

"Hi Lisbon" said Cho. "Are you as dry as I am? The only thing to drink here is water, soda and juice. I'd kill for a beer" he said thirstily.

"I could do with a nice glass of wine myself. What do you have in mind?" Teresa asked her friend.

"Wanna go into town and find a bar?" asked Cho hopefully. Lisbon looked down at her fluffy robe and didn't much fancy getting dressed again.

"What if you and Jane go on a run and find us some drinks and bring them back here Cho? Then we can stay in and relax, finally."

Cho thought about it for a nanosecond before agreeing. "Tell Jane to meet me outside in a couple of minutes."

"OK, will do. Bye."

Teresa turned to tell Jane the news but he was ahead of her, standing up and walking towards the door.

"What'll it be? Wine, beer, Scotch, tequila?" he asked, happy to have a drink as well.

"Better save the hard stuff for after the case. Wine is fine, and grab some munchies while you're at it please" Teresa asked, leaning in for a kiss.

"Yes ma'am. Be back as soon as we find where the booze is hidden in this town" Jane agreed.

"Ask Maisie if she's at the desk, she'll know" suggested Lisbon, before settling down with the remote in her hand again. "Be back soon."

"Bye."

Jane smiled and opened the door, spying Cho waiting beside the SUV. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of black mid-thigh length shorts. Jane raised his eyebrows and gave Cho an appraising look.

"What? It's hot out here!" Cho said in self-defence before Jane could pass comment on his attire.

"Hey, it's fine with me!" Jane said, stepping up into the SUV. That's all he said. Cho was glad Jane didn't pursue it and relaxed behind the wheel.

Until they pulled out onto the highway.

"I just didn't know you had legs…"

Cho snorted at his passenger and gunned the motor, aware of Jane's grinning face staring out the side window. They had to drive to the far side of the main street to find a gas station that sold cold beer and wine, along with every conceivable type of junk food anyone would want. Jane and Cho made the rounds of the small store and came away with two grocery bags of booze and snacks to tide them over for a few days. When the booze was gone, hopefully, they would be on their way back to Austin.

While they were gone, Lisbon stepped outside to watch fireflies buzz through the soft evening air, and spotted Maisie doing the same thing outside her office. Maisie looked up and saw Lisbon and waved her over. Not wanting to be rude, Lisbon wrapped her robe around her small frame a bit more securely and strolled over to say hello. Maisie offered Teresa a lawn chair to sit in next to her and smiled deeply when her guest sat down.

"Beautiful night" Maisie said, gazing up at the star infested sky. With so little light pollution way out here in the country, the stars were dazzling. There was nothing like this light show back in Chicago Lisbon realized.

"Yes, beautiful. This is a nice time of day...not so hot or humid" Lisbon said, making conversation before the men came back.

"I like to come out here when it's quiet. Everyone gone or in for the night. The phone stops ringing and I get to sit, finally" Maisie sighed.

"Must get lonely sometimes" surmised Lisbon, not seeing a husband around.

"Mmmm, yes. It's nice to have a woman to talk to as well" said Maisie. "So many of my guests are truckers just passing through on their way to Laredo or Houston. Not many families come 'round either."

"I guess...is it just you and your sister running the motel?" Teresa asked, finding an opening.

"Oh yeah...just the two of us now…" Maisie admitted. "My husband used to run this business with me but he had a stroke 10 years ago, was sick for a long time afterwards. He passed on 5 years ago."

"I'm sorry...that must have been hard for you" Lisbon said kindly.

Maisie kept looking upwards at the stars, but nodded. "It was hard at first, suddenly being alone. But I had 34 wonderful years with Joe before he died. How can I complain about that? Not everyone gets to spend their life with the person they love so much. I was very fortunate and I have no regrets."

Lisbon immediately thought of Angela and Charlotte, and once again was reminded of Patrick's great loss and his fight to regain his life with her. She smiled at the thought.

"And Margaret? Has she always lived with you?" Teresa asked.

"Ah Maggie...what a sweetie…" Maisie turned her attention to Lisbon and spoke from the heart.

"As you no doubt have noticed, Margaret is delayed intellectually. But she wasn't always this way. She was the smartest girl in high school, and was the valedictorian at her graduation ceremony her last year in school. She ran circles around me academically. I used to ask her to help me with my math and science homework every night!"

Her eyes sparkled as she remembered the young and vivacious Margaret.

"I always told her that without her being my twin, I might never have graduated at all!" She smiled so deeply at the memory Lisbon wasn't sure whether she should make a comment. Sighing deeply, Maisie gazed out at the passing traffic.

"It happened right about there…" she said softly, pointing to a spot a half mile down the road.

"An accident?" Lisbon said quietly.

"Yes, an accident. Maggie and I graduated and soon after I married my high school sweetheart, Joe Lyons. Maggie had a boyfriend too, Ben Collins. She loved him but wanted to go to university first before considering marriage. She had been accepted to every university that she applied to and had scholarships to pay for her tuition. I wasn't jealous, I was thrilled for her. Ben was determined to marry her a year after high school. He wasn't happy that she wanted to continue her education but she was 'way too smart to just settle down and work some part-time job here in Lost Wells. She wanted to be a lawyer."

"Sounds like a smart girl alright" smiled Teresa, seeing the pride in Maisie's face.

"Yes, really smart. So over the summer, after graduation in June, Maggie broke Ben's heart by breaking off their relationship. I know he could see it coming. She figured why carry on if she was going to be gone for at least 4 years of university then law school after that? Who would wait that long? Better he marry a local girl and start his family while she followed her dreams."

"That must have been difficult for both of them" Teresa said, remembering breaking up with her first fiancé so many years ago, and then breaking up with Pike. She had quite the poor relationship history herself.

"Oh it was, they both cried. They did love each other but in the end, Ben knew he couldn't convince her to stay. Lost Wells just wasn't big enough for a girl like Margaret."

Lisbon sat silently, listening to the cicadas chirp in the night air, her mood getting more and more sombre. Maisie paused too, remembering that summer like it was yesterday. Eventually she picked up the threat of her story again.

"She did it you know."

Lisbon turned to face the woman. "She graduated from law school?"

"She sure did! Smartest girl in the class, hell, smartest person in the class. Won all the awards, had job offers from all the top firms."

"What did she decide to do?"

"Oh she chose a firm that she felt had the best record for supporting civil rights and family law. Those two things were important to her...family and oppressed people who had no voice. She worked for 15 years in Dallas and Fort Worth, did a wonderful job. And then it all ended."

"What happened Maisie?" Lisbon prodded her gently.

"Maggie came home every so often and visited her friends from high school when she could. Her boyfriend Ben never married. He was a really good guy, a sweet man and handsome as all get out! He could have had any girl he wanted. But, I guess he carried a torch for Maggie if you know what I mean" smiled Maisie. "Oh he dated plenty of nice girls, but when they got serious and started to expect a ring, he chickened out and dropped them. He burned a lot of bridges and broke a lot of hearts because he was a real nice boy...man actually by then. He was strong, kind, had a good job, his parents are real nice, Maggie loves his Mom like she was her own…"

"Did she visit Ben when she came home?"

"She didn't seek him out but when they ran into each other they were happy to see how they were each doing. Ben always loved Maggie and at times, I know she regretted not marrying him too. She gave up a lot for her career. The last time she came home, Ben called on her and asked her if she wanted to go out for a drive with him, pick up an ice cream cone, you know, just a nice little visit on a summer night. She saw no harm in it and agreed. Off they went. I'll always remember seeing her turn and wave bye bye to me as she drove off sitting beside Ben in his old blue convertible. He loved that car."

Maisie was seeing it all play out in her memory, this being the first time in years that she had allowed herself to replay those days again in her mind. To share the story with someone actually felt good, like it made the old Maggie live again, just for a few minutes. After a long pause, Maisie picked up the story again.

"They drove around for a while, and stopped at the Dippin' Dairy to pick up an ice cream. Then they headed back towards the motel on their way over to visit Ben's Mom and Dad. His parents live out in the country on a big farm. They always expected that one day Ben would marry and take over the farm so they could retire in the town. I wish I could say what happened, but maybe Ben and Maggie got into an argument, or maybe a rabbit ran across the road, but just over there" she pointed to the spot down the highway, "Ben lost control of the car. It skidded across the road and flipped, at least 3 times the fireman said, and came to rest upside down in a culvert. I heard the crash from here but never expected that Maggie and Ben were the ones who were involved."

"Maggie was badly injured? But she survived" Lisbon said, trying to find some good in this sad tale.

"The police said that if Ben had taken his Jeep out that night, they would have only suffered minor injuries. But since they were in a convertible, there was no roof to protect them when the car flipped. Their seatbelts kept them inside the car, but the open top… well, the head injuries were devastating."

"I'm so sorry Maisie."

"Yes...thank you. Ben died on impact, but since Maggie was shorter, her head injuries were severe but she didn't die. She was in the hospital for weeks and weeks and we almost lost her a few times. When she awoke, the Maggie we all knew was gone. She had to learn to do everything again, walking, talking, feeding herself, learning how to get dressed, everything. Eventually she was released into our care, but as you can see, she's not the woman she used to be. She's more like a child now, a lovely and loving child."

"Doe she remember anything from her life before the accident?"

"Oddly yes. It comes and goes. She still can operate a car, strange as that seems, but then she always did love to drive. And she also remembers she had a boyfriend named Ben. But the details of Ben are fuzzy in her mind. The good thing is that she doesn't really mourn him. I don't think she's capable of that now. He's just someone important that she remembers from long ago and that's all. Every once in awhile she gets excited and tells me she saw Ben somewhere and can we go visit him. It's hard to talk her out of that idea but in time, she forgets she even imagined it. She stays in contact with his mother, Mamma Jillie, as they were always so close. She still goes out to visit Mamma Jillie now that she's quite infirm. Ben's father, Poppa Gus, is a still running the farm, but he's not very well in the head I'm afraid, maybe Alzheimer's. He should be retired but if it weren't for the farm, I think he would die of a broken heart. Maggie helps Mamma Jillie around the house. It makes them both happy."

"Maggie is lucky to have you Maisie. She obviously looks up to you" Lisbon said, a little shaken by this woman's tragedy.

"I'm the lucky one. I could have lost Maggie that night but she survived. Even though the Maggie that came back to me is different, I love her just the same and will do anything to make her happy. She was a great comfort to me when my Joe died. So maybe God had a plan for her all along, or for me...who knows…" she said wistfully.

Lisbon reached out and held Maisie's hand. She felt a surge of affection for this strong and loving woman. If only all people were so good.

"Thank you for sharing your story with me, I know that must have been hard for you to do" Lisbon said.

"Oh not at all. I so rarely get the chance to talk about the old days, happier times. It feels good to remember those days, so you actually did me a favour by listening so patiently. Thank you!" she smiled, wiping away a tear.

The phone inside the motel office rang and interrupted the moment. Maisie moaned with frustration.

"Sorry, I have to take that. Thanks for the visit Agent Lisbon" Maisie said as she stood up to answer the phone.

"Thank you. See you tomorrow" Teresa answered. As she walked back to the room the FBI SUV pulled into their parking space and Cho stepped out holding his bag of snacks and beer. Jane joined him on the sidewalk and put his arm around Lisbon. Cho said goodnight and headed to his room and a cold beer.

"Miss me?" Jane said, escorting Teresa back into their room.

"More than you know" she said softly.


	6. Tell Me Your Name

Another long chapter! Things are heating up and will soon boil over. Bits and pieces of information are starting to appear. Thanks for all of the great reviews and guesses as to who is taking these men. You are all very clever!

Return To Me

Chapter 6

Tell Me Your Name

Teresa and Patrick settled down with some snacks and glasses of wine, a movie at the ready. But first Teresa wanted to tell Patrick what she had learned about Margaret. After listening to the whole story quietly, he raised his glass in a salute.

"To Maisie for being a wonderful sister."

Teresa followed suit. "To Margaret, for being reborn."

They drank deeply then found a new movie, one with a happy, hopeful message and saved the murder mystery for another night.

(Early Morning Wakeup)

The next morning a soft tap on the door alerted Teresa to the arrival of fresh coffee. She eagerly threw back the bed sheet and opened the door a crack. A small tray held a carafe of steaming coffee, two cups, a small container of mixed teas, and a plate of freshly baked apple cinnamon muffins. She stepped out and grabbed the tray, seeing Cho do the same thing in his pajama bottoms. Glancing up, he gave her a sheepish grin and withdrew into his room again.

Five minutes later the kettle was whistling as Patrick got his tea ready. Teresa was munching a muffin and savouring a rich cup of coffee.

"Mmmm...thank you Maisie…" Teresa cooed as she enjoyed her breakfast treat. Patrick sat next to her on the sofa, tea and muffin in hand and got tucked in with his food as well.

"What's on the agenda today?" he asked.

Lisbon wiped her mouth and reached for her cell phone.

"Calderone texted that he's coming down here for a quick meeting. He wants all of his agents to regroup and sweep the rural properties for signs of Nembutal. Ranchers might have some supplies of it as well as vets, so if we find any, it might lead to our killer. Also he said they have a new development in the case."

"Not another missing person I hope" Patrick said, taking a bite of his muffin and considering other possibilities. He wanted to talk to more people, not dig around dusty barns and back rooms looking for dangerous narcotics. Lisbon finished off her coffee then got up and grabbed a shower before Jane could get off the sofa. She was eager to get on the road, find their perp and go home. He couldn't blame her.

Maisie finished her rounds of delivering coffee and muffins to her guests and returned to her home which was directly behind the long low motel. A few outbuildings holding supplies for the motel were behind her home, which sat on a very large parcel of land. If the town was booming, she would be a millionaire should she ever decide to sell the land and retire. As it was, the chances of ever selling her business and land and getting enough money to retire at any point were slim to none. She feared she would have to work until she dropped from old age and exhaustion. The only hope was an economic turnaround. That certainly didn't seem to be on the horizon. Maggie was in the kitchen mixing up another batch of muffin dough.

"Can we have blueberry muffins this time?" she asked Maisie.

"Of course. Just look in the fridge and you'll find some berries there that I got from the market the other day. Remember to wash them well first though sweetie" she advised Maggie.

Maggie was quite competent in helping her sister around the house. She could bake if Maisie told her how much flour and other ingredients to measure out, and she could clean and vacuum like a seasoned professional cleaner. Maggie could focus on such tasks very well and derived a huge amount of happiness from working hard and producing a satisfying result. At first, years ago, Maggie couldn't be left alone in the house or motel for fear she would get confused and wander off or hurt herself accidentally, but now Maisie knew that her sister was fine alone for long periods of time. She would sit in the back of the office watching a small TV and laughing at daytime shows. She could change beds and clean and polish like a maid when asked. For Maggie, her days were full and fulfilling. For the most part she was a happy woman/child. The only disquieting aspect to Maggie's new personality was her mood swings.

Maisie loved the open, trusting, sweet person Maggie was most of the time, but then a storm descended upon Maggie, triggered by God knows what, turning her normally easy going ways into a seething outburst of tears, recrimination and anxiety. The doctors had warned Maisie that this could be a side effect of the brain damage her sister suffered, and sadly, their prediction had come true. As Maggie aged, her sunny disposition turned hostile and aggressive more and more often. Each day that Maggie was happy and compliant was a good day without worry for Maisie.

Maggie found the blueberries and dutifully rinsed then several times before drying them on a tea towel, just like her sister taught her to do. Then she dumped them all into the bowl of muffin batter. This was the most fun part, stirring it and then licking the bowl after all the muffin tins were filled. As Maisie came and went from home to the motel and back again, she kept an eye on Maggie and knew it would be another good day.

(Easy Stop Grocery Store)

Calderone was waiting for his agents when Jane, Cho and Lisbon drove up. They had arranged to gather at the parking lot of the local grocery store for a face to face meeting. Off to one corner, they could hold an impromptu meeting without being overheard by locals going about their business.

"As some of you may have heard, the family of Martin Valeriote spoke to our agents and gave us some background. Martin was on his way home from a conference but texted them that he was tired and had pulled into a local motel for the night. We can assume it was the Mercury Motel and will speak with the proprietor again today. His plan was to leave the next day and arrive back home as soon as possible. He didn't know anyone in Lost Wells and was here by chance. No one here could have known he was coming or who he was. This was a crime of opportunity. Maybe he was carrying a large amount of cash with him, maybe he wanted to buy drugs and tried to make a connection that went wrong. If the deal went south, they made sure he couldn't squeal...we just don't know right now. Keep your eyes and ears open for anyone flashing a large amount of cash around, check the local drug dealers and shake them down for info. With luck, someone will talk. On a similar note, the body of Tim Ellison has been found."

A murmur of surprise rippled through the assembled investigators.

"Tim was drifting across the state, and must have run out of money just about the time he was in the vicinity of Lost Wells. He made the unfortunate decision to play a few too many rounds of poker with members of a local drug cartel from just over the border. He must have been desperate to make that choice and he lost his life because of it. We have two men in custody who swear that Ellison lost heavily and couldn't pay. When he tried to run, he was killed. Judging from the condition of the body, they took their time with him. We have a team out now searching for the perp's, but if they ran back across the border, we may never find them. That takes one missing man off our list, so concentrate your efforts on finding Sam Banks and Agent Thomas. Thank you Agents" Calderone finished.

Jane flagged Calderone to come over to their little group.

"Whatever became of Agent Thomas's SUV? Did it get tracked with its GPS locator?"

Calderone shook his head. "No need to track it. We found it sitting in the driveway of his grandmother's house where he left it. For some reason, he went somewhere in another vehicle, with whom, we have no idea. Neighbours said he had an auction of his grandmother's possessions and what didn't sell he gave to local charities. He hoped to finish everything up in a few days, put the house on the market and then come back to work in Houston. We never heard from him again after he told us the sale was wrapping up."

"Huh…" said Jane, his mind going over the possibilities.

"All of the neighbours have been interviewed about that last day, but no one saw anything untoward going on if they were at the auction. No strangers were present, just regular townsfolk who bought items to help Agent Thomas out."

"OK. Thank you" Jane said distractedly.

"Agents, see you soon" Calderone said in farewell, tipping his cowboy hat. It all seemed so innocuous. And that's why no one remembered seeing anything amiss. Jane watched as Calderone walked away, his agents dispersing to converse with each other before they set out to uncover whatever truths Lost Wells was hiding. Lisbon saw the scowl on Jane's face and knew he thought their efforts were misguided.

"So, out with it. What should Calderone's people be doing?"

Jane paced back to their vehicle and had to admit, he had no viable alternative to traditional police work at this stage.

"It's not that at all. Calderone has to tick all the boxes. This isn't his first case of kidnapping and murder. It's just that I don't think our perp falls into any of the categories we're looking at. Something seems off about all of this" he said, gazing at the shoppers trudging behind their grocery carts in the early morning heat. "We're missing something."

"So, what do you suggest?"

Jane decided to change the subject until he could dissect this mystery.

"Let's see if Carol is at work yet at the Texas Belle" Jane said, hopping into the SUV behind Cho and Lisbon. "Maybe they know how to make eggs."

"We already ate Jane" said Cho, full after scarfing down two king-sized muffins and two cups of coffee.

"Maybe you call a cake-like substance breakfast, but that was just a teaser. We need protein to start the day. Eggs!" Jane said.

"Apparently I'm travelling with a hobbit, second breakfast anyone?" added Lisbon scornfully.

"Let's see who crashes first after a sugar rush, hmmm?" Jane warned them, peering out of the side window at the townsfolk arriving for work at their jobs along the way. Cho let Lisbon drive and sat back to read his book, done with the conversation. Jane's sudden zig-zags in his operating procedures no longer fazed Cho.

(Mercury Motel)

Calderone had to pass the motel on his way back to Houston, so he pulled in with another agent from his office and sought out Maisie Lyons. She was at her desk when the large man walked in, his dark suit and sunglasses an intimidating sight. His colleague had doffed his jacket in capitulation to the heat, and rolled up his shirt sleeves as he waited to assist his boss.

"May I help you?" Maisie asked, standing up to greet the two men. She knew in an instant they were FBI men.

Calderone showed his badge, and folded his hands across his flat stomach.

"Ms. Lyons, as you no doubt have heard by now, a man was found murdered recently in a lot outside Lost Wells. Would you let us check your registry book and see if he stayed here?"

Maisie was a bit overwhelmed, yet again, by the presence of more FBI agents in her small office. She had been questioned when those first two men disappeared, then when the agent went missing. Now another person was involved. What was happening to her safe, dull town?

"No problem, here" she said, turning her book around for Calderone to read. The motel was not exactly bursting at the seams with guests these days, so it didn't take long for Martin Valeriote's name to show up a bit farther down the page from Cho, Lisbon and Jane's. Then much farther down another name caught Calderone's attention. Robert Thomas had stayed at the motel for one night. That was two out of four missing men.

"This man, Robert Thomas, did you have a chance to talk to him, find out what his plans were?" Calderone asked Maisie.

"Robert Thomas...I can't say I remember him."

Calderone showed her his agent's photo and then she remembered the dark haired man. "I think you told an agent some weeks ago that you rented him a room."

"Oh yes, now I remember. He came in very late at night and got a room. Said he would be in town for a few days to take care of his grandmother's house and belongings. I actually knew her...a real nice lady. Mr. Thomas said he wanted to talk to me in the morning."

"What did he talk about with you the next day?" Calderone asked.

"Oh nothing! I mean, I took coffee around to his door like I do for everyone, but he never came to my office. When I checked later, the coffee was gone and so was he. He must have left early that morning and never came back. I never saw him again" she said. "Maybe he wanted an early start to the work on his grandmother's house."

Calderone sighed in frustration. His man had been right here and then, gone. What had he discovered during his days in town? He tried another approach.

"You may have seen these photos before, but would you please study them again, and try to remember if any of these other men stopped by here" Calderone said, signalling for his agent to show her the photos of Tim Ellison and Sam Banks. She had seen the photos before, but these men had not stayed at her motel. She didn't really know anything about the men at all.

Calderone asked if Maisie knew of anyone who might euthanize their pets or cattle themselves rather than using a veterinarian's services. This question threw her off balance but again, she drew a blank. What an odd thing to ask! Seeing that this woman was unable to give them any new information, Calderone and his agent thanked Maisie and got back into their car for the long drive back to Houston. If only there was more forensic information available, or an eyewitness, or a shred of evidence that the men had been in town, the case might take a leap forward. But until that happened, Calderone had to trust that his agents and the good people from Austin would keep digging until they caught a break. The missing people could be anywhere in a one hundred mile radius.

Maggie had watched the whole conversation from her spot behind the curtain and came out once the men were gone. She stood watching the black car leave the parking lot and soon felt her sister slide up beside her.

"Hi sweetie. All done in the kitchen?"

"All done. Are those men good or bad men Maisie?" Maggie asked, a bit scared of Calderone.

"Oh they're policemen Maggie, so they're good men. They just have a job to do and needed my help for a minute." Maisie wanted to shield Maggie from any talk of missing people or God forbid, a murder. How she would take that news was uncertain, so why upset her? Maggie watched the men go until their car was out of sight, then she grabbed her sister's hand and tried to pull her through the open door.

"Let's go visit Mamma Jillie and Poppa Gus!" she said, suddenly excited, trying to drag Maisie towards their old car. Maisie resisted and pulled her hand back.

"Maggie, we can't just leave. I've got work to do and Mamma Jillie doesn't like lots of people in her house. No, today we have to stay here."

Maggie's face fell and she stamped her foot in frustration. The kid in her was waking up.

"You hate Mamma Jillie and Poppa Gus or else you'd let me go!" she shouted. A guest walked by and raised his eyebrows in distaste to see a grown woman acting so badly.

"Shhh...Maggie! I don't hate them, I just have work to do. I'll call her tomorrow and see if we can come visit on Sunday, how would that be?" Maisie suggested, hoping to placate her angry sister.

"Never mind! I hate you too!" Maggie shouted before she stomped off to sulk. Maisie sighed and wiped beads of sweat off her forehead. Maggie would come around. Her mood wouldn't last long and then, the whole episode would be forgotten. She just needed time.

(Texas Belle Diner)

Jane strolled into the diner and gazed around, seeking out Carol. He hoped she wasn't still at home, sleeping late in order to work the evening shift again. Lisbon and Cho sat at a table in the window to watch the main street. As Jane was about to sit, he spied Carol stepping out of the back of the diner tying an apron around her waist. She grabbed a coffee pot and started to serve customers. Smiling at his good luck, Jane slid into the seat beside Lisbon and read the breakfast menu. Eggs eggs eggs...they took up one whole side of the menu and came in every possible combination with bacon, sausage, corned beef, hash browns, french fries, toast, salsa and guacamole, a fruit cup or cottage cheese. Humming his delight, Jane made his choice and handed the menu to Cho.

"No thanks. Just juice" he said, still full of sugary goodness. Lisbon had only eaten one small muffin so she relented, deciding she would be hungry in 45 minutes, might as well eat now while she had the chance.

Carol made her way to the front of the diner and offered coffee. Lisbon said yes, Cho asked for juice and Jane of course wanted tea. Carol smiled when she saw Jane again and made sure to be back soon to take their orders. While they waited for their food, Jane turned in his chair and studied the people sitting here and there around the room gossiping or dozing over their cooling meals. While he spotted plenty of deception in the conversations, no one jumped out at him as being a possible suspect. Disappointed at this, he had to consider that no one here was capable of committing such a heinous crime.

(The Farm - 2 Months Ago)

An old wooden barn door, at least 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide lay on the ground underneath bales of hay. Old rusty farm equipment lay scattered around the yard, and a barn that looked like it could blow apart in the first strong wind leaned crazily on an angle behind an equally windswept house. The property was far away from town, back from the road. You had to know it was there in the first place to find it. Way out here in the back country, no one bothered to keep up the outside of their buildings, as the constant blowing sand and dirt eventually scrubbed the paint off barns like sandpaper. The wood on the house and barn was buffed to a soft silver colour, and a tired roof on the barn was patched here and there with sheet metal. Sturdy cattle wandered the hard turf all around the property, the fences keeping them in were as ancient as the land itself. The farm had once been prosperous, a hive of activity with a large family and horses, pigs, cattle and a few pet goats. That was a hundred years ago when times were different. The farm had changed hands twice since then, two more families had come and gone, and now the current occupants waited impatiently until called to Glory, their lifetime on earth finally over.

The door lay over a pit, dug 30 years ago by the owner to throw refuse into and burn, so he didn't have to truck it into town and pay to have it removed. Screw that he'd thought. Anything he didn't want went down the hole. A good fire cleaned it out so he could start again. It was so far off the road that these days no one remembered that the pit had ever been there, and that was just fine with the owner of the farm. These days, the pit was empty of garbage, instead it housed a new type of refuse. A man sat on the floor of the pit, hungry, dirty, and scared out of his mind. He had seen another man on the property before he was thrown into the hole in the earth, but he had no idea what had become of him. Calling for help had proved futile, as no one ever came around except the burly man who taken him captive in the first place. If there was anyone else on the farm, the prisoner was unaware of it. What did the man want with him? He hadn't done anything to antagonize him. All he'd done was say hello at the farmer's market and offer to help the man carry some heavy items to his truck. His reward for being of assistance was a knock on the head and now, he lay in a squalid hole, waiting for God only knew what to happen.

Scraping noises alerted the man to the arrival of his captor. Once a day a small window set into the large door would be pulled open, and a bucket of water would be lowered down. After that, food scraps would be thrown into the pit. That was his only sustenance. Since he was in constant darkness, he had lost track of the passage of time. When had he been taken...3 days ago...4 days...what did a week feel like? So much time had passed, the pit fairly stank with stale air, human sweat and excrement. Each day the fair haired man lunged for the food scraps and stuffed them into his mouth. He was no longer fussy about what he ate and for the most part, the food was delicious except for the dirt that stuck to it. Yesterday it was the remnants of a salad, a half eaten meat sandwich and an overripe banana. That, washed down with water, sustained him until food would arrive today. He was waiting for his meal when the sound of activity overhead alerted him to something new happening. Above ground, the burly farmer was pulling aside some of the hay bales and then, shoved the door away from the edge of the pit with the aid of a small tractor.

The piercing sunlight blinded the captive into shielding his eyes. A slim aluminum ladder was lowered into the pit and a booming voice above ordered him to come up. Fear gripped the man. What would happen to him if he left the relative safety of the pit? What would happen to him if he didn't come up? As he sweated over his predicament, he heard the unmistakeable sound of a rifle being cocked.

"Come up son. Do as I say and give me the right answers and no harm will come to you" said the voice.

There was no choice to be made. The man warily ascended the ladder and reached the top lip of the pit shaking with trepidation. How had this situation spun out of control so quickly...he raked his brain trying to figure out just what the hell was going on.

"Stand over there!" boomed the voice as the man holding a shotgun pointed to a far building.

The man followed the bony finger and went to where he was directed. A bale of hay had been set aside under a shady portico on the side of the barn. He didn't want to do anything to make this guy go off. The gun was terrifying.

"Sit!"

The man sat down and faced his abuser. Gathering up his courage, he spoke to the man for the first time in days.

"Why are you doing this to me? You know I haven't done anything to you! I thought I was being friendly when we met."

"Friendly? Friendly? Like all them other fellas. Leading me on with your small talk and your offer to help me with my bags. Do I look like I need help? No, you were trying to fool me again, like you always do. Making me believe...hoping that you're ….just like them other fella's…" the man rambled incoherently.

"There were other men?" the prisoner realized. The gun-toting man ignored his question. "I need to know if it's you" the old man demanded. "And don't lie!"

"If it's me?" the captive replied. "Who are you expecting?" he foolishly asked.

The farmer took his time replying, disappointment evident in his tone of voice. Not again...another imposter trying to worm his way into the family.

"You know who I'm looking for. Don't you know who I am?" asked the burly farmer, giving his prisoner another chance to tell the truth. "Look around, tell me about this place, your time here, your family. Tell me that you know where you are!"

"No! No sir! I..I don't know who you are or where I am, but if you tell me, we can talk and maybe find a way out of this mess. I can be on my way and you'll never see me again!" burbled the frightened man, not knowing he had just sealed his own fate.

"Tell me your name son."

"Ok...sure. Then can you let me go?" asked the frightened man.

"Of course. You name."

"Ah...OK. I'm Sam Banks. And your name sir?" he stupidly asked.

"Wrong answer!" the farmer bellowed, stepping forward as he swung the butt end of the rifle against Sam's head.

Sam fell backwards off his hay bale and lay bleeding on the ground. The farmer reached into his pocket and produced a syringe. This had turned out the same as the last time. Then, as today, he was able to determine that man was an imposter when he didn't recognize the farm or the house. Why did these men continue to torment him, try to fool him and use him? This was cruel, they were cruel!

This young man had proven to be easier to handle than the last he'd brought here. That man had fought back and tried to run. His reward was a bullet in the back. It was messy and noisy, and required cleaning up afterwards. But the farmer had learned from that mistake. Now, an injection would do, then all he'd have to do is dispose of this imposter. Why did these strangers come around to bedevil him? Why did they have to pretend to be someone they were not? God knew he didn't mean them any harm! The old man's mind spun with anguish and misery. He just wanted this to end, that's all.

Grabbing Sam Banks' limp arm by the wrist, the farmer inserted the needle into his skin and depressed the plunger. The liquid surged through the unconscious man's vein and made its way through his body. Sighing in regret, the farmer turned towards his pickup truck and walked over to it, keys in hand. This wouldn't take long. He'd left the last body far out in the country beyond the last of the houses and farms. The sun and vultures would pick the bodies clean in no time. Driving back to the barn, he pulled down the hinged door on the back of his pickup and hauled the body into the box of the truck. A tarp was thrown over Sam and he locked the door again. Trudging around to the cab of the pickup, he gunned the motor and drove away from his farm, a heavy stone weighing on his chest, frustration and anger mingling together in him. All he had ever wanted was peace in his final years.


	7. Just Ask Carol

I hope I got back to each and every one of you who took the time to write reviews. They are much appreciated and your ideas about who the kidnapper could be are a pleasure to read! My hat is off to Rosepeony for her in-depth analysis of the story so far. Smart lady! Anyway, I am at least 3 chapters ahead in writing and am very excited to get those up and published. It's getting scary! Time for another chapter...

Return To Me

Chapter 7

Just Ask Carol

Jane almost groaned with pleasure when he finished his plate of eggs sunny side up, toast, hash browns and baked beans. It was heavy food but when done right, worth the few extra pounds. Lisbon had relented and ordered scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. Cho, his word his bond, only had orange juice. Carol came around to take away the empty plates and Jane made his move.

"Excuse me Carol, could we impose upon you for just a few minutes?" he asked, indicating an empty chair beside Cho.

"Oh I don't know...I'm supposed to be working" she said unhappily. She wouldn't mind sitting down if she had the chance. Her days were long and tiring.

"You'd be helping with our investigation, so if your boss gives you any grief, send him over to Agent Lisbon here, and she'll set him straight" Jane said with a serious expression. Lisbon smiled weakly, knowing full well she'd have to be the big bad agent so Jane could get what he wanted.

Carol didn't need convincing. She pulled up the empty chair and sat down with a happy sigh. Lisbon shoved the dirty plates to the end of the table.

"What can I do to help?" Carol asked, looking from Jane to Lisbon, Lisbon to Cho and then back to a smiling Jane.

"Carol, we have agents all over the County searching for answers to the disappearance of several men, as you know."

"Yes sir, pretty near everyone knows all about it" she said, shaking her head at the tragedy of it all.

"Now I personally think that the person who can help us the most is you Carol" Jane asserted, taking the waitress by surprise.

"Me? Hell I don't know anything!"

Jane reached out and patted her hand. "Don't be so sure. I bet with a little help you could remember all sorts of things that you didn't know you knew in the first place."

Carol looked at Lisbon for help. How could she know more than the police did?

"Mr. Jane is usually right about these things Carol, and if you just relax and let him work with you, we might be able to make some sense out of these crimes" Lisbon reassured the woman. Having said that, Lisbon turned and stared at Jane, hoping he could in fact work some kind of magic and get information out of this small woman.

"Ok Carol, now I want you to think about who comes in here. Day in and day out, you see the same people, day in and day out. Some come in on certain days, some come in randomly, but eventually, everyone in town comes in, correct?" he said soothingly.

Carol shook her head, yes.

"But sometimes someone comes in that you've never seen before. That person might just be passing through, or might be visiting relatives here and stays for a few days. You've seen those people too, haven't you" he continued in a soft voice, his thumb gently stroking the back of Carol's hand as he spoke.

"People come, people go, in and out, in and out. When you think about it, who has come in lately that you knew didn't belong, was new or different? Was it a man or a woman?" he asked, his thumb stroking her hand soothingly. Carol's eyes drooped a bit as she fell under the spell of his voice.

'Dammit!" thought Lisbon, Jane hadn't said he'd hypnotise the woman! Carol gazed off into space and looked around the nearly empty diner, the breakfast crowd now on their way to start their morning. Under Jane's guidance, she was seeing people who weren't actually there. She looked from table to table, studying faces and passing over her friends and neighbours as if they were in fact sitting over a meal. She saw a face near the back of the room that she didn't recognize. Jane saw her face change as she scrutinized this man whom she hadn't realized she had noticed that day.

"Who do you see?" Jane asked Carol.

Raising her hand, she pointed at the table as if Jane would see the man there as clearly as she did now.

"There...in the corner...blonde hair...handsome. Why didn't I get that table?" she complained to herself.

"If I show you a photo, would you recognize the man you see?" Jane asked her.

"Sure...he's right there…" Carol asserted, still staring at the empty table.

At his signal, Cho fanned out the photos of the missing men and waited for Jane to continue.

"Look Carol, see, I have photos. Can you tell me which man you're looking at over there?" Jane asked her, still rubbing the back of her hand.

Carol turned back to Jane and then, lowered her eyes to the photos. She gazed at the picture of Agent Robert Thomas but didn't react. Next was the photo of Martin Valeriote and she passed over it in disinterest. Tim Ellison's photo was next and she stopped longer to gaze at it. But then she looked at the last photo and stopped again.

"It's him" she said.

Lisbon raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was Sam Banks!

"Yes, this is Sam Banks Carol. Did you speak with him at all that day?"

Carol smiled dreamily and laughed at Jane.

"I may be old but I'm not dead yet! He was just passing through town. Long time ago. He ate lunch, then stopped me to ask if there was a market anywhere around so he could by some fresh fruit to eat on his way back to Houston. I had forgotten all about it..." she said dreamily.

Cho wrote all this down and smiled. Now they had something to work with.

"Carol, you're doing really well. How long ago did you see Sam in the diner?" Jane prodded her subconscious.

"Month ago...no, before that...Susie was off sick...I had to cover for her. Don't that figure?" Carol said in a fog.

"So more than a month ago you saw Sam in the diner…"

"Ummm...more...like, two months ago, right after the fair left town…" Carol confirmed.

Cho noted the time of Sam's disappearance. Jane was getting some good information from this little woman.

"Did Sam tell you anything else about himself? If he was alone or meeting anyone else while he was in town?" Jane asked her.

"Well he wasn't here to date me, that's for darned sure!" Carol laughed, seeing herself in her mind's eye flirting with Sam. "He was just passing through, looking for the market. Such a cutie" she said softly, still seeing him there at the table in her memory palace.

"Did you see these other men here in the diner?" Jane asked again, trying to draw her attention back to the photos.

Carol looked at them again and shook her head, no.

Jane knew they'd get nothing else out of Carol so he gave her a suggestion to wake up, refreshed and rested, eager to get on with her day. When he tapped her hand, she looked at him clear eyed and smiled.

"See, I told you I didn't know anything" she said, standing up.

"Well thank you all the same" Jane said. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Come back again, try the quesadilla's next time" she suggested, handing them their bills.

Carol reached over and took away their plates then went about her business, with an extra spring in her step.

As they stood up to leave, Lisbon rounded on Jane.

"Really? You had to hypnotize her Jane? When do I ever allow that?" she complained.

"Ahh...you're not the boss of me Lisbon" Jane smiled. "It's all for the greater good, and we got what we needed, a name and a place and somewhere else to look. Et voila."

Jane strolled towards the door as Lisbon groused and Cho tagged along. He wasn't officially Jane's boss yet, but when he was, he would have to have a serious chat with him about how far he could go to get his witnesses to talk. However, the smirk on Cho's face betrayed his satisfaction with the outcome of Jane's little gambit.

(Somewhere in the backcountry - 2 months ago)

The old pickup truck bounced across the dirt road and veered off into no-man's land. After a 30 minute drive, the truck stopped and the farmer stepped out. He surveyed the land around him and knew he'd found the right spot. Ahead of him was a deep ravine cut through the land by eons of flash floods. He dragged the dead body of Sam Banks out of the back of the truck and dumped him on the ground. Gazing into the ravine, he saw the mortal remains of the other men he had dumped there. Not much was left of them. The vultures had been hungry…

With a push of his foot, the farmer sent Sam's body rolling down to the bottom of the gash in the earth. He stood and looked at the body as it came to a stop, laying like a rag doll in the dust. He took his wrinkled cowboy hat off and put it across his chest, bowing his head in prayer.

"Lord, forgive me for my transgressions. I know I done wrong, but you know I had to do it. Welcome this poor unfortunate man into Your Kingdom as your child. Amen."

Turning on his heel without a backward glance, the man slowly walked back to his truck and turned it around. He had to get going. The cattle needed to be fed.

(Lost Wells Farmer's Market)

Cho, Lisbon and Jane made their way over to the location of the farmer's market on the edge of town. It was a ragtag group of artisans and farmers who assembled twice a week selling fruit, vegetables, arts and crafts, home made toys and gizmos, anything to add to the family finances. A good deal could be had and it was a way for the people in the area of Lost Wells to support each other. Cho called in their latest information regarding Sam Banks for Calderone to disseminate to the other teams. As each new discovery was made, it only took minutes for the text messages to flow and inform every agent and cop out there. That's how news had spread about Sam's car being found, burned down to a nub in the desert. The torched car had only recently been discovered and the VIN numbers were so badly damaged that Forensics had determined the ownership of the car a just few days ago. As for Agent Thomas, his cell phone was no longer working when Calderone tried to call his agent. The landscape here was wide open and rough, with more than enough places to stash a car, or a body. Apparently, someone had done just that.

The black vehicle pulled up alongside family vans, pickup trucks and a couple of motorcycles. Business was brisk this early in the day with the freshest fruit already gone. Cho took one side of the aisle of vendors and Jane took the other, while Lisbon headed towards the food truck standing at the end of the lot. Now that they knew Sam Banks had been here at least 2 months ago, perhaps someone not from town would remember seeing him.

Lisbon waited until the fry cook had a free moment to speak with her. Showing him Sam's photo, she got a blank stare as an answer.

"Sorry Ma'am, but I ain't seen 'em. I hardly look up from the fryer we get so busy. Ask my wife over there, she takes the orders" the man apologized.

"Thank you anyway" Lisbon answered, heading over to the other side of the truck. A sweating woman with greying hair stepped up to the window.

"What''ll it be Ma'am?" she asked.

"I'm Agent Teresa Lisbon with the FBI, and I was wondering if you recall seeing this man about 6 or 8 weeks ago at your food stand?"

The woman wiped her hands on her apron and held the photo close to her nose. She scrutinized the photo for a long time, wanting to be sure of her answer for the FBI

"Is this one of those poor unfortunate men who went missing?" she asked, handing the photo back.

"Yes Ma'am, he is. Do you recognize him?"

"I'm really sorry, but no, I don't. If he didn't buy anything from me I wouldn't know if he came to the market at all. As you can see, we get real busy here" she explained, sad that she couldn't be of more help.

"Well thank you for your time" Lisbon said, disappointed.

Jane wandered around the stands of produce and ignored the vegetables. Carol had said Sam wanted fresh fruit to eat in the car while he drove. So that meant something very portable, didn't need peeling and that was not very messy. Something you could eat with one hand.

Jane eyed the fruit vendors and then...a ha! He ignored the peaches (too fuzzy and drippy), the oranges (how can you peel an orange while you drive?), bananas (same problem), melons (of all sorts, too big and hard) and grapes (where to put the seeds?). He arrived at the stand where a rosy cheeked woman was selling apples. They were probably no fresher than what you could get at a grocery store, but she managed to attract buyers nonetheless.

"Care for a bag of apples today sir?" she asked Jane when he stopped and tossed one into the air smiling.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could give me some information today and perhaps an apple later" he said, showing his FBI ID badge to her.

"Who...me? Information about what?" she stammered, flustered that this handsome man was an agent.

Jane produced a photo of Sam Banks and held it out for the woman to study.

"Did you see this man, many weeks ago? He might have bought apples from you."

The woman took the photo and put smeary glasses on the end of her nose. The man certainly was attractive, fair haired and kind looking. She knew he wasn't from around here, or she'd know him instantly. But come to think of it...he did look kind of familiar.

Jane studied the woman's face and knew she was beginning to remember something. "He wanted fruit for a trip, something that wasn't messy or drippy. It may have been around 2 months ago just after the fair left town" he told her.

"Not messy...yes...I remember this man. He stood out because he wanted to get on his way home but wanted fruit for the journey. We talked a bit about his trip and he seemed so nice, so pleasant. I sold him 4 apples and then he was gone" the woman explained, seeing him now in her mind's eye.

"Did you see where he went after he walked away? Did he stop to talk to anyone else?"

"Oh my...well let me think" she muttered. Closing her eyes she tried to see him walking away holding his little bag of apples. She saw him walk to the end of the aisle and then stop to talk to an old man. Yes! An old man standing there with a very large and heavy bag of produce!

"I saw him! Over there, just by the cars! He stopped to talk to an older fella who flagged him down!" she said gleefully, pointing to the spot.

By now Cho and Lisbon had joined Jane and waited to see where this conversation was going to end up.

"Who was this man? Do you know him, have a name?" Cho asked. The woman was taken aback by Cho's incursion into the conversation, but seeing as the nice blonde man in front of her seemed to know that man and that lady, she answered Cho.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who he was. I'd never seen him here before."

"Did it seem like Mr. Banks knew this man?" Lisbon asked.

"I can't really say...they were talking for a while, then the man you're looking for helped the older man carry his bag. After they went around the corner, I couldn't see them anymore, and I had customers, so...you know…" her voice trailed off.

Sighing in frustration to have come so close to having a real suspect, Lisbon looked up and around to see if there were security cameras on any of the buildings surrounding the market square. Not one.

"Could you describe this man, the older man? If we brought in a sketch artist, could you describe him so we could draw a picture of him?" Cho asked.

"Oh well, I don't know...it was so long ago…" the apple vendor said, suddenly intimidated by all of the attention her recollection was drawing. What if she was wrong and some poor old guy got arrested? She was getting cold feet just thinking about it.

"We just need a picture, and if the man you describe turns out to be no one of any importance, we will move on to another lead. But without your help, we might not ever find any of the missing men. Do you think you could work with an artist and help us?" Lisbon said kindly, seeing the apprehension in the other woman's eyes.

"Well, I don't know. I don't want to get someone in trouble you understand."

"You won't. But you just might stop a killer from hurting anyone else" Jane said, taking the woman's hand in his. "Please, help us find Sam."

The woman saw how important this was to all three of these Agents, so she let her guard down and relented.

"Well, in that case...OK. What do I have to do?" she asked nervously.

Cho got her name and address, contact information and told her she would be contacted by another agent and an FBI artist who would try to make a drawing of the old man from her description. That's all. She seemed to relax a bit.

"You've been a big help, really. More than you know" Jane told the woman. "And now, how about an apple for me and my two friends here?" he said, pulling out his wallet.

The woman smiled deeply and told them to choose whatever apple they wanted while Jane paid up. Soon they were on their way back to their car, apples tucked away to eat later when breakfast had finally worn off.


	8. Not Again

Return to Me

Chapter 8

Not Again

Maggie had stomped off in frustration when Maisie wouldn't take her to visit Poppa Gus and Mamma Jillie. She had such a limited group of people she could visit and two of her favourite people were Ben Collins' parents, Jillie and Gus. They had welcomed her with open arms almost as a daughter when she and Ben dated, and even though Ben and Maggie didn't eventually get married, his folks still loved Maggie. When Ben died, one of the only things that helped them through their loss was the knowledge that Maggie had survived, albeit as a new, more childlike person. As they were getting on in years, Maggie was a great comfort to them and tried to go out to visit them at their house in the country as often as Maisie would take her. Sometimes a neighbour took her, and sometimes, when Maisie was very busy, Maggie took the car keys and drove the old Chevy out to the Collins house by herself. The car was an automatic so it was easy for Maggie to operate. The road was never busy, and she knew the way like the back of her hand, even after the accident. The local Sheriff's deputies knew who she was and where she was going and turned a blind eye to the fact that she no longer had a valid driver's license. They all felt sorry enough for her to just watch out for her but let her drive to Mamma Jillie's house anyway. Maisie would scold Maggie when she got back for taking the car, but secretly admired how independent Maggie tried to be. It was such a small pleasure for her now.

Maggie was fuming in anger at being denied a visit to Gus and Jillie. She wandered around the property behind the motel and threw rocks at the back of the building to blow off steam. When she had worn herself out and her temper had abated, she trudged back to the motel office in resignation, sure that she wouldn't get her way today. Checking the office, she didn't find her sister. Looking over towards the house, she spotted Maisie walking away with trays of dishes and cups to wash up. A new idea occurred to Maggie.

Maggie watched Maisie go into the kitchen and decided to take advantage of her absence. She quickly grabbed the car keys and before Maisie had even missed her, Maggie backed the old car out of the driveway and took off down a side road to visit Jillie and Gus. Whatever lecture Maisie gave her later would be worth it to get away from the motel for a couple of hours and see her old friends.

Mamma Jillie was sitting on her side porch when a cloud of dust indicated the arrival of a visitor. The faded red Chevy jerked to a stop and parked right next to the side door of the old house. Jillie stood up smiling, happy to see her favourite girl.

"Mamma Jillie! How ya doing today?" called Maggie, slamming the car door.

"Much better now darlin'" answered Jillie. "Where ya been at lately? Poppa Gus and I were getting lonesome way out here without company" the old lady said.

"Sorry Mamma Jillie, but Maisie and I've been very busy at work. Lots of new people in town, something about missing people."

Just then the screen door opened and an old man came out, his arms spread wide and a grin plastered on his stubbly face.

"C'mere girl! Give Poppa Gus a hug!"

Maggie ran over and hugged Gus tightly.

"I missed you girlie. What's all this I hear you sayin' there's lots of folks in town from away?"

Maggie pulled up a chair and sat down between Jillie and Gus. Jillie produced a hard candy from her apron pocket and gave it to Maggie.

"Yup. Police and men in suits with big black cars...like a movie" Maggie said. "Do you think they're making a movie in Lost Wells?" she asked Gus with all seriousness.

"That must be what it is honey. A movie right here in the middle of nowhere! But who'd go to see it?" he laughed at his own cleverness.

Maggie relaxed in the chair, knowing full well that when her candy was finished, Jillie would invite her inside for a yummy treat to eat, then Gus would let her wander over to the fenceline and call to the cattle. It was the same thing every visit and it gave Maggie such a peaceful feeling to have this other side of her life to look forward to. When she went inside to eat, she would stare at photos of Ben on the long bureau against the wall by the side door. Momma Jillie had photos of Ben in every room and sometimes she'd talk about him with Maggie, telling her about what a good boy he'd been. Sometimes Mamma Jillie would cry a bit and that would get Maggie upset too, but she wasn't sure why. Ben was a nice boy, she was sure of it, and she remembered that he'd been very nice to her a long time ago. But Poppa Gus said Ben had to go away and they'd meet him again someday, in better times. For some reason Maggie didn't understand, that made Mamma Jillie cry all the harder.

Some things were just so confusing for Maggie.

When Maggie came in after visiting the cattle, she helped Mamma Jillie in the kitchen and swept the floor for her. She spent the rest of the morning helping Jillie around the house and then wandered outside looking for Gus. He was always so busy building things and fixing things. Being a farmer was a lot of work apparently. She and Jillie had made a big pile of sandwiches and there was fresh pie for dessert. She needed to find Gus to tell him to come in for lunch.

She found him making a crate of some sort and had to yell at him over the sound of the power drill. They walked back to the house together and quickly devoured the sandwiches and most of the pie.

Soon enough, Jillie had to tell Maggie it was time to go home again. Maggie groaned loudly in protest.

"Maggie, you get along now, get home before your sister gets real worried " Poppa Gus told her.

"You drive ahead and I'll follow you to make sure you get to town safely, OK darlin'?" he reminded her. He always made sure she got home safe and sound. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her on the road so far from home.

"I know Poppa Gus, I'll drive real careful, just like always" she said, reluctant to leave them.

Giving Mamma Jillie a hug goodbye, she walked to her car with Gus and hugged him too, then sat behind the wheel of the Chevy. Gus got behind his steering wheel and flashed his headlights...time to go! It was the same routine every single time but a nice one.

(FBI SUV)

Cho was hot. Even with the air conditioning on in the SUV, the heat of a Texas afternoon was too much. His black suit looked impressive but he had chosen his attire not considering how hot the day would be by mid-afternoon. Jane and Lisbon weren't any cooler. Jane wished he had left his suit jacket at the motel and instead had worn one of his island shirts with lightweight summer pants. Lisbon could have worn a t-shirt and cotton skirt, still professional but so much cooler in 100 plus temps. After leaving the market, the three friends decided to return to the motel so they could all choose a change of clothing and perhaps grab another shower.

As they pulled into the driveway, Jane spotted Maisie standing at the curb peering down the street, obviously looking for someone. Once Cho had parked, he quickly entered his cool motel room for a quick cool rinse off in the shower then would consider what to wear to combat the oppressive heat. Lisbon headed towards her motel door but when she turned to speak to Jane, he was walking towards Maisie instead.

Maisie had spent the morning angry that her sister had sneaked off in the car without her permission. She wasn't all that worried about Maggie driving since she'd be lucky to encounter another vehicle on the road once she left Lost Wells. It was just the principle of the thing...Maggie needed to be more responsible about letting Maisie know where she was going.

"Everything alright?" Jane asked the motel owner, coming over to stand beside her.

Maisie smiled a bit and nodded. "Yes, I guess so. Maggie took off in the car this morning and it's about time she got back. I just worry about her, that's all."

"A natural reaction...I would too" he assured her. "She's a sweet woman and I wanted to thank her for doing such a good job here at the motel."

"She'd like that Mr. Jane."

As Maisie spoke with Jane, she kept an eye out for the old red Chevy. After a few minutes, Maggie drove up smiling with self-satisfaction. Gus had followed behind a little bit, hanging back so Maggie would feel independent. As she approached the motel Gus pulled over a half a block back to the side of the road to make sure Maggie parked and got back inside safely. As her car shuddered to a stop, Maggie stepped out grinning like she'd taken the last cookie out of the jar.

"Don't be mad at me Maisie! I had to go see Ben's folks. They need me" she said before her sister could open her mouth to scold her. "And Gus followed me home, OK?"

"How many times have I told you to let me know when you want to drive the car? Huh? What if I had needed to go into town Maggie? What if there was an emergency and I couldn't leave?"

Maggie felt embarrassed and chastised by her sister's lecture, because, she was right of course. It didn't help that the man from Room 12 was standing right there as well! Maggie dropped her eyes and wouldn't look at Jane or Maisie. Seeing her discomfort, Jane spoke up.

"I just came out to thank you for the lovely fresh towels you gave me Maggie. I don't think you heard me when I spoke to you earlier. Agent Lisbon and I appreciate the job you're doing here with your sister Maisie."

Maisie smiled at Jane, knowing what he was doing, and Maggie raised her head in pride, immediately feeling better about herself.

"Thanks" she grinned shyly. "You're nice."

"Well, let's not carried away" Jane laughed, then said his goodbyes before he turned back towards his room to get out of the unrelenting sun. When he got there Lisbon was in the shower. In 3 minutes, he'd joined her.

Down the street, Gus had watched the entire exchange between Maisie and Maggie and knew Maggie was in trouble with her sister. No real surprise there! What he didn't understand was why that stranger had been waiting for Maggie in front of the motel. Then he spoke to Maggie and made her smile. What was he up to? Gus's protective instincts were ignited. No one had better dare to hurt his little Maggie! He watched as the strange man said goodbye to the women and then went to his room. Then the women left too.

Maisie followed Maggie inside.

Gus finally turned his vehicle around and he left town for his home in the dusty backcountry. He didn't like change and he sure as hell didn't want Maggie to be hurt again!

(Motel Office)

"Sweetie, some day someone is going to decide you can't drive that car anymore. Then what will we do?" Maisie said as she picked up some mail to inspect.

"Then I'll ride a bicycle!" Maggie replied, completely disarming any argument Maisie might have used against her. They both dissolved in laughter at Maggie's smarty-pants come back. Oh man, Maggie could still surprise her sister!

Lisbon enjoyed her shower with Jane for a few minutes but before he got too frisky, she had to admit she had a pounding headache. Whether it was the heat or the bad mattress, she was tired and in pain. She quickly towelled herself dry and dressed in a t-shirt and sleep shorts, then slid between the cool sheets, waiting for her headache medication to kick in. For his part, Jane hoped she would soon be feeling better. Those migraines had been plaguing Teresa for as long as Jane knew her and he wanted them gone. Fortunately, for now, there was nothing pressing for the three of them to do until the sketch artist was finished his drawing of the man Sam Banks had been talking to. So Jane dried off and put his blue island shirt on with a pair of cool cotton khaki's. Lisbon loved him in these clothes, so why not make both of them happy?

Jane quietly filled the tea kettle and boiled water for his tea. Cho was busy in his room at the small desk by the window writing a report, ever efficient. After a call to Abbott, he decided he'd take that shower then stretch out on the bed for a quick nap himself. Jane padded over to Teresa and kissed her cheek.

"Mmmm...you smell delicious" Teresa said, opening her eyes a crack to see the man she loved. "Too bad I feel like crap. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise, you'd have your way with me young woman" grinned Jane. "And I'll make sure that happens once your headache is gone. Until then, sleep. I'll find something to do while you rest."

"OK" came Teresa's muffled reply as she turned over to hug her pillow.

Jane made his tea and sat in the shade outside his door for a while, and by the time Jane was halfway through his tea and well into his book, Cho and Lisbon were snoring lightly, each in their own blissful place. The book was boring and in time, Jane put it down. He gazed at Teresa through the window and much as he wanted to cuddle up close to her, he didn't want to disturb her and wake her. If she slept a bit longer, maybe her headache would be gone before suppertime. The room was tiny and offered nothing in the way of a distraction, so Jane quietly left Lisbon on the bed while he wandered away, looking for something interesting to do.

The street where the motel was located had only one or two other buildings on it as it was on the edge of town and not frequented enough by traffic for anyone to risk opening a shop or office there. Jane strolled down the sidewalk past the motel, past Maisie's house, past the other old buildings then spotted an historic monument sitting on a grassy bit of land by the corner. He ambled over and approached the small monument to read the brass plaque that the local historical society had installed almost a hundred years ago. Cars came and went behind him, the drivers oblivious to the monument that had been there forever. Bending down to wipe the dust off the raised lettering with his handkerchief, Jane began to read about a battle that had happened on this spot 160 years ago. As he neared the bottom of the long story, he felt the presence of someone close behind him. Expecting Lisbon to have come looking for him, Jane stood up smiling and started to turn around to draw her close enough for a kiss.

He never saw the heavy hand as it sliced through the air wielding the butt of a rifle. It glanced off the back of Jane's head and sent him crashing insensate to the ground. He never felt the strong arms wrap around his upper body and pull him away; never felt the ground slide away from under his feet; and never felt his body slam into the bed of the old pickup truck.

And he never saw the frightened eyes of Maggie staring in shock as she stood by the clothesline in the motel's backyard far down the street.

A dusty tarp covered his bloodied skull and slack body as the driver pulled away, heading out into the dismal countryside with his prey in the back. Another prize had been taken off the streets.

A light tapping on the door roused Lisbon two hours later. She sat up groggily and called to Jane to get the door. When no answer came from the bathroom, she rolled off the bed and made her way slowly over to the door.

"Cho. What's up?'

Cho eyed Lisbon's sleep rumpled face and hair and looked past her to see if Jane was there.

"Sorry, I woke you up."

"S'OK, it was time I got up anyway. What's happening?"

"Nothing much, just checking in. I think we slept for about 2 hours so I wanted to see if you two had heard anything from Calderone or Abbott."

Lisbon shook her head. She had been asleep so had no idea if Jane had spoken to either of those Special Agents in Charge. "Did you see Jane out there Cho? He's not in the room."

Cho glanced up the sidewalk in both directions. The book and teacup were sitting on the arm of the chair by the door.

"Nope, no sign of him. Not surprising. Boredom is a dangerous thing for Jane. Let me ask Maisie if she's seen him in the last few minutes" Cho suggested. "You can get yourself organized then we should go into town and see what's going on" he said, allowing Lisbon time to rinse her face and comb her hair.

"OK, I'll be out in a minute."

Cho walked towards the office and passed Maggie on the way. She eyed him with suspicion but said nothing. He scared her with his stoic expression.

"Hello again Agent Cho, how can I help you?" Maisie asked him when he entered her small office.

"I was just wondering if you've seen Mr. Jane in the last while?"

Maisie shook her head. "He spoke to me when you first got back here a couple of hours ago, but I haven't seen him since. Maybe Maggie knows where he went." Maisie went to the doorway and called her sister into the office.

"Can you come here please? Sweetie, did you see Mr. Jane in the last little while? He's the man in Room 12. His friends are looking for him."

Maggie had spent the last two hours going over what she had witnessed, trying to make sense of it. She had kept herself busy and stayed away from the backyard in case she saw something else that scared her.

Maggie stared at Cho and inched a bit closer to her sister. "Is he a good guy or a bad guy?" she whispered loudly. Cho laughed and interrupted. "I'm a good guy, no need to be concerned about me. We're all friends here" he said kindly to the timid woman.

"OK...well...yes, I saw that man in Room 12 a little while after I got home from Mamma Jillie's. He was going that way" she said, pointing towards the street. "He went for a walk" she added. Unfortunately, that's all she said. What she'd seen had scared her so badly she needed time to process Jane's kidnapping, and she certainly wasn't going to tell this dark, intense man that she was confused.

Cho stood in the doorway looking up the street for any sign of Jane. Sighing deeply, he just knew he'd have to go and find him and bring him back from whatever adventure he was currently engaged in.

"Thank you Maggie. You've been a big help" Cho said as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. Lisbon was on her way to meet him.

"Well, where is he?" she smiled.

"Maggie says he went for a walk over there" Cho pointed. "Time to bring him back I guess."

Maggie dashed to her bedroom the second Cho left the office.

Cho and Lisbon both walked to the end of the driveway and turned onto the sidewalk, going in the direction Maggie had indicated. There really wasn't anything interesting to look at here, but they kept walking, past the two old buildings, until they reached the corner where they spotted the historic monument. As Cho continued to walk on across the road, Lisbon paused and stared a bit longer at the spot where the monument sat. Then she let out a shout of distress and ran to the monument. Standing in front of the plaque, she bent down and picked up Jane's handkerchief.

"Cho! Jane was here!"

Cho changed directions and jogged over to Lisbon, seeing the large pale blue square of cotton in her hand. Knowing no one else who still used hankies, they both backed up and surveyed the area for any more clues. Cho hunched down on his heels and ran his hand over a dark spot on the sparse grass. His fingers came away wet and red.

"Blood."

Lisbon paled instantly. "Oh God, no…"

She quickly searched the ground and saw the faint tracks in the grass left by two heels that had been dragged across the surface of the hard turf.

"Someone attacked Jane and took him...over this way…" she said, stunned at the sudden change in their day. Cho was on his phone even as Lisbon walked the corner looking for more evidence of what had happened to Jane. Cho called for backup and a Forensic team to secure the area and take samples of the bloodied earth but Lisbon knew it would be Jane's blood.

"Why Cho? Why Jane? What did he do after we came back to the motel? Who did he talk to?"

Cho scanned the few buildings for security cameras but of course, there were none. Nothing of value was here on this street except for the motel. Cho and Lisbon stayed at the corner to secure it until the FBI and some local uniforms showed up. As yellow crime scene tape was unrolled and placed around the entire corner, Cho put his arm around Lisbon as she was obviously shaken.

"I can't stand this Cho...not again...not again" Teresa whispered.


	9. Suspects

I have been busy writing all weekend and am at chapter 15 now. So, in order to get you all there, I guess I better post another chapter to start the week off. Thank you everyone who wrote reviews, you know how encouraging they are. And to my Guest reviewers, even the one who wrote in Spanish, Gracias!

Return to Me

Chapter 9

Suspects

Within minutes after the FBI and local cops arrived, Cho escorted Lisbon back to the motel. There was nothing else they could do standing on that corner and Lisbon was visibly distraught.

"He promised me Cho...he promised nothing bad would happen to him, that no one would kidnap him again. I don't think I can take this again…" she cried softly, taking shelter against his broad shoulder.

Cho was as stoic as ever but inside, behind his mask of calm, a rage was boiling inside of him, threatening to erupt in a flash of anger. Whoever did this to Jane would pay. But for now, Lisbon needed him to remain in control. His ringing cellphone distracted his vengeful thoughts.

"Cho."

Agent Calderone had just been notified of Jane's abduction and was eager to come out to Lost Wells to help search for him. Two agents gone missing was his breaking point.

"I'm heading out there in a few minutes, but I'm coming in by chopper to save time. I've told Dennis Abbott. He'll come as soon as possible. How's Agent Lisbon holding up?" he asked.

"She's a professional, she'll be OK" Cho said, looking at Teresa's wan face.

"Good to hear. Keep me apprised of any developments and I'll be there soon" Calderone said before hanging up.

"We need that sketch completed as soon as possible. If the man seen at the market is our perp, we need to circulate that sketch ASAP!" Lisbon said to Cho, desperate for a break in the case.

(The Farm)

The old farmer drove his pickup to the end of the drive closest to the small barn set back from the larger barn and house, then parked. He pulled the tarp back to check on his prisoner. Jane lay in a bloody heap, unconscious. The farmer pulled Jane out of the back of the pickup and let his body slump onto the hard packed dirt. The man should have been waking up by now. Checking Jane's eyes, the farmer was a bit worried that maybe he'd hit him too hard and he'd never get a chance to interrogate him, and that was the whole point of this exercise. He needed to determine if this man was the person he was looking for. If not, he'd have to be disposed of just like all the other imposters. And for him to make that determination, this man had to wake up. Until he did, he could rot in the pit where he couldn't escape.

The old farmer shoved the heavy barn door off the hole in the ground with his tractor. Then he got out and dragged Jane's body over to the lip of the pit. With a mighty heave, he sent the body down into the darkness and heard the dull thump of the slack body hitting bottom. The pit wasn't very deep, but impossible to crawl out of without a ladder or something to stand on. He used his tractor to once again shove the door over the opening and covered it all up with bales of hay. Once that was accomplished, he went inside the house to have his supper. He had time on his side.

(Evening)

Pain.

Crushing, blinding, tear inducing pain.

Pain so intense that it drove a dagger of awareness through Jane's unconscious brain. He gradually came to and rolled over in confusion, opening his eyes only to be greeted by near total darkness. The odd patch of sunlight fell here and there through cracks in a roof, against what appeared to be dirt walls. As soon as Jane tried to move, his head let him know with pounding pain that it was a very bad idea. His left wrist had been caught underneath his body when he landed in the pit and now that he had turned over, his wrist filled with blood and screamed in agony. He'd broken it with his own body weight. Running his good hand over his head, Jane felt a bloody soft spot on the back and withdrew wet fingers. He tried to stand but for now, he was still too wobbly to get up off his knees. Sliding down onto his backside, Jane felt the cool wall of his prison and the hard packed earth underneath him.

He was in a hole in the ground!

"Hello! Is there anybody out there?" he called in a surprisingly weak voice, knowing it was most likely futile. He was met with silence. Straining his ears, in the distance he could hear cattle calling to each other. Was he on a ranch? Jane had caught a glimpse of a tall man just as the rifle butt slammed into his head, and after that, nothing. A new realization dawned on him. Could his captor be the person who had taken all of those other men? Was he the prisoner of a serial killer? A cold sweat broke out on Jane's forehead as the severity of his current situation hit him. As far as he knew, no one had seen him get attacked and taken, so he was totally on his own now.

Lisbon...dammit...Lisbon must be worried sick! Thank goodness Cho was with her. He'd do whatever he could to keep her calm until…

Jane swallowed and didn't finish the thought.

His wrist was gradually ratcheting up the pain level as his arm, now freed of the constraints of his body, started to swell and scream in protest to the broken bone and stretched nerves. If it hurt this badly now, he could only imagine how it would feel in an hour, in two. For that reason alone, he hoped his captor would come back and do whatever he planned to do and get this show on the road.

(Lost Wells)

Cho was glued to his cellphone while Lisbon paced back and forth in her room. She had to do something, anything to find Jane, but where to begin? Cho had said that Maggie saw Jane walk away. She needed to talk to Maggie and see what else she knew. Decision made, she strode away from her room looking for the timid woman. Maggie had gone to her bedroom shortly after Cho spoke to her in Maisie's office. She found him intimidating, even though he said he was a friend. Well, her experience over the years had taught her that men could pretend to be friendly, then they teased and hounded her, made fun of her and called her names, said she was a retard. Whatever that meant, it hurt her feelings. Maisie always told her to ignore those boys, they didn't know what they were talking about, but still, it left Maggie unsure who to trust.

Were all men bad?

Maggie decided to stay in her room until all these strange people left town and her life got back to normal. Yes, that would make all the scariness go away. What she had witnessed today rocked her to her core and it would take a long time to get over it.

"Maggie? Where are you sweetie?" Maisie called, walking through the house looking for her suddenly absent sister. "Maggie!"

Maisie checked everywhere before ending up outside Maggie's bedroom door.

"Maggie, please open the door. I need to talk to you."

Slowly the door opened a crack and Maggie peered out at her sister. "I want to stay in here."

"You can sweetie, you can spend all evening here if you like after supper, but first I need you to come out and talk to Miss Lisbon. You remember her? She is the nice lady travelling with Mr. Jane, in Room 12."

The bedroom door slammed shut again. NO! She wasn't going to talk about it with that woman.

Maisie sighed in frustration. What on earth had gotten into Maggie all of a sudden? Any other day she would revel in all of the attention she was getting!

"Maggie please, come out. Miss Lisbon is very worried about Mr. Jane and just wants to hear you tell the story again about what happened. Please Maggie."

"No and you can't make me!" came the petulant reply from behind the door.

Maisie had had enough of this. Usually Maggie could be persuaded to cooperate but this was ridiculous. Well, she did have the final, nuclear option to use as a last resort.

"Maggie, come out of your room this instant or no TV for the rest of the week. And I mean it!" Maisie threatened. She could hear Maggie walking around in her room, considering this terrible threat, and in another minute the door was yanked open. Maggie was mad.

"OK OK OK...here I am! What do you want?" she barked, angry at being manipulated by her beloved sister.

"Please Maggie, just come outside and visit with Miss Lisbon for a while. She's very nice and won't take much of your time. It would mean a lot to her if you would help her." Maisie had appealed to Maggie's desire for praise, so finally, Maggie relented.

"Oh alright. But I want to see Wheel of Fortune tonight Maisie!" Maggie said, still fearful her TV would be cut off.

"You can watch it sweetie, don't worry" Maisie assured her, walking with her to the back patio. Teresa was waiting by the door, keen to find out more details of the kidnapping.

"Hello again Maggie" she said, reaching out to shake the woman's hand.

"Hullo.." Maggie said dully.

"Let's sit shall we?" Maisie suggested, indicating the garden chairs in the shade.

"Thank you" Lisbon began, before turning to Maggie. She had to go slowly. If she came on too strongly she was sure Maggie would clam up and she'd get nothing out of her.

"Maggie, Agent Cho told me that you saw Mr. Jane leave the motel earlier this afternoon and go for a walk. Is that right?" she said gently.

"Yes, I did."

"Was Mr. Jane alone or did someone else walk with him?"

"He was alone, all alone, just walking, over there" Maggie said, pointing towards the end of the street a block away.

"Did you happen to see what he did when he got to the end of the street Maggie?" Lisbon asked hopefully.

Maggie could see the whole scene play out in her mind. That blonde man stopped and walked over to the big stone on the corner and seemed to be cleaning something dirty on it. Then he got busy reading and didn't know a truck had pulled up to the curb. When he finally noticed, he got hit and dragged off. But if this bad thing could happen to that nice man, could it happen to her if she told someone? She had to make a quick decision, because she knew who had taken Mr. Jane!

"No, I didn't see what happened to him. I was hanging up laundry and didn't see what he did. Sorry" she lied.

Lisbon sighed with disappointment. Maggie wasn't going to be of any help after all. She had stopped watching just when it would have helped solve the kidnapping.

"Can I go now?" Maggie asked her sister.

"Sure sweetie, thanks."

"Thank you Maggie" said Lisbon, standing up. "If you remember anything else, please let me know, OK?"

"OK." Maggie turned to walk away, then stopped.

"Is Mr. Jane a good guy or a bad guy?" Maggie asked Lisbon. For Maggie, the world was divided into two camps, good men and bad men. Sometimes, it was hard to tell the difference.

"Mr. Jane is a very good guy. We work together but we also love each other. When the time is right, we're going to get married, so you see, I really need for him to come back to me" Lisbon told her.

Maggie studied Lisbon and decided she liked her, but it wasn't enough to get her to talk about what had happened. If Mr. Jane was really a good guy, and a policeman, he'd find a way to come back, she was sure of it.

Maisie and Maggie returned to the house and Lisbon walked back to the motel to see if anything new had come to light. Cho was talking to several agents outside Jane's room and called Lisbon over when he spotted her.

"Anything happening?" she asked hopefully.

"Not yet, but we've got every officer out there beating the bushes and a chopper in the air looking for him or anything unusual. The sketch artist is done working with the woman at the market and will be sending the drawing out in the next few minutes. Once we print off a copy we can canvass the town to see if anyone can ID our suspect."

The FBI sketch artist had found the woman to be a terrible witness, just as she had warned Cho and Lisbon that she would be. She was so afraid of getting someone innocent into trouble, and had paid so little attention to the man and Sam Hunt, that few details stuck in her mind. If Jane was here, he'd hypnotize her to get more information. But that was not to be…

First the woman said the man had no hair, but then she realized he had no hair because he was wearing a baseball hat. Then she couldn't really say if he had any facial hair because his collar was up on his shirt. He was taller than Sam Hunt, so maybe 6 feet tall or taller, but his build kept changing from thin to medium and back again. She wasn't sure what his nose looked like and had to guess, and she couldn't remember if he wore glasses or sunglasses. All in all, the sketch could have resembled more than a dozen older men in and around Lost Wells. This was getting the investigation nowhere. Cho printed the sketch off on Maisie's printer and showed Lisbon. More copies were made and handed out. All police, sheriff's deputies and agents armed with this sketch fanned out across the town of Lost Wells and into the country to see if anyone knew who their mystery man was. Cho found Maisie and showed her the sketch.

"Does this man look familiar to you?" he asked.

Maisie pulled her glasses down onto her nose and studied the paper.

"Well, uh.. Let me see. It could be Carl Meadows out in the country, he's kind of like this guy, but then again... It could maybe be Reverend Bilson, pastor at the Methodist church in town. Could be Gus Collins, Ben's dad, he's tall…" she laughed to herself.

"Oh!" she said suddenly serious. Stabbing the paper she got excited. "This guy looks like this creepy guy on Fourth Street, right by the market...he's always keeping to himself and is downright odd."

She raised her eyes to Cho and smiled. "For my money, go check out the guy on Fourth Street. Definitely weird."

Cho thanked her and got Lisbon. The lead was slim and probably wrong, but Maisie was sure this guy could be their guy, so they had to go check it out. Cho called in his plan to investigate the possible suspect and was soon joined on Fourth Street by some local cops who knew the man well.

Standing just down the street a few houses from the house in question, Deputy Miller filled Cho and Lisbon in on their suspect.

"Name's John Langford. Small time crook, lots of arrests for fist fights and a Break and Entry charge...did some time up at the State Prison a few years back. Short temper, always looking for a fight. Been pretty good lately though."

With nothing more to go on but Maisie's suggestion and the man's questionable relationship with the law, Cho and the other officers decided to approach the man and see how he reacted. Two Deputies went around the back of the house in case the man tried to pull a runner. Cho and Lisbon along with Deputy Miller walked up to the front door, standing aside with their hands on their sidearms.

Cho stepped out and knocked on the door. Nothing.

Cho knocked harder and called for Langford to come to the door.

"Fuck off!"

"John Langford, this is Agent Kimball Cho with the Austin FBI. Open the door now or we'll break it down. You've got 5 seconds."

Noises emanated from the messy house and then a man called out.

"Give me a minute...can't walk fast…you bastards better not break my damned door before I get there!"

Cho stood back with his hand on his gun, waiting for a confrontation. Finally the front door was yanked open and a tall, thin man leered out at them. He was clean shaven save for a few days stubble, but his foot was encased in a large walking cast. The man had a black eye and his arm in a sling. In his condition, he couldn't kidnap a dead fish.

"Whaddya want!" he yelled at the assembled cops on his front step.

Cho looked at Lisbon in disappointment, but they had to question the man about Sam's disappearance at the very least. Fifteen minutes later it was abundantly clear that they had the wrong guy. Langford had been in the hospital with a lung infection from smoking two packages of cigarettes a day when Sam Banks disappeared. His current injuries were from a 'disagreement' he had with a friend, so he said. He was in no shape to drag a grown man through the grass and into a vehicle, not without help.

Langford slammed his door shut in a snit while Cho, Lisbon and the other cops left his property.

"That went well" Cho snarked. "One down, half the County left to check out. We're off to to a great start."

"Wait a minute...have any of our agents found Nembutal on farms around Lost Wells?" asked Lisbon, returning to that part of the investigation.

Cho checked his phone for updates.

"Four farmers so far. One had a very out of date supply that he had forgotten about in the back of his barn, buried under some old ledgers. The other three did use their drug to euthanize animals that were old or suffering. That being said, one of them could be our perp. Everyone with a supply of barbiturates will be arrested and questioned as to where they got the drug and where they were today and when the other men disappeared."

"So there could be just as many farmers out there with this drug that we haven't found yet" Lisbon said, discouraged.

"We're working as fast as our Agents can canvass the area" Cho reminded her, but he felt the pace was far too slow now that Jane had been taken.

Lisbon walked to the car, frustrated and angry. She had been with Jane ever since they arrived. He had done nothing untoward and yet, he was targeted. Why? She got into the SUV and dug out the pictures of the missing men again. They were all around the same age, all blonde or fair haired, all handsome and well muscled . Except for dark haired Agent Thomas, Jane and the others were all of a certain type, but not similar in facial features. So their perp liked a certain "type". Their perp had a preference. Was Jane just in the wrong place at the wrong time when the perp drove by? The sooner they caught a break, the sooner Lisbon could bring Patrick home again.

She just hoped to bring him home alive.


	10. Raiders in the Night

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I hope I didn't miss anyone when I replied to you. It's late, should be heading to bed, but I thought I'd throw another chapter up for you night hawks!

Return to Me

Chapter 10

Raiders in the Night

Jane was getting chilled sitting on the damp earth. No sunlight filtered through the few breaks in the wooden ceiling to indicate the time of day. Guessing that it was now late in the evening, he was beside himself with pain. His head seethed with a migraine from his concussion but his arm was so swollen and screaming in pain that he wished he could be knocked out again to escape the agony. Any movement he made jostled the loose bone in his wrist and caused him to gasp in shock. This night would drag on if he couldn't manage to sleep. The sounds of cattle had diminished, so even the animals were resting. All but him.

Jane was curious about his captor. He hadn't bothered to come back to check up on him, question him or kill him, for that matter. What was he waiting for? The only upside to being ignored for so long was that maybe Cho and Lisbon were making headway in finding him. That single thought was going to have to keep Jane going until morning, when he hoped he would be able to figure out just what the hell was going on.

(Mercury Motel)

Cho and Lisbon had picked up a quick meal in town then brought it back to the motel. Neither of them was really hungry, but if they needed to go out on a raid or other police action tonight, they had to have something in their stomachs to keep them going. Lisbon's stomach was in knots, worry making it hard to digest anything but she mechanically forced the food down anyway. She and Cho sat together in her room on the sofa, not watching the TV that was playing softly in front of them. By the time they were finished their meal, a knock on their door caught them off-guard.

Cho got up and opened the door a crack, just in case someone wanted to capture another agent. The grim face of Dennis Abbott was on the other side of the door.

"Come in...glad you could make it" Cho greeted him.

Abbott came in and went straight to Lisbon. He put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly.

"We'll find him Lisbon, I promise. I've got every man I could find working this case. Jane's smart. He'll find a way to stay alive until we can bring him back."

Lisbon nodded her head, wanting to believe every word Abbott said. He turned to Cho for an update.

"We now know someone locally is selling off-market, illegal barbiturates to farmers around here, and anyone else who wants them. Catch that guy, it will narrow our playing field considerably."

"I hear we have some farmers in custody in Houston. Have they named their source?" Cho asked hopefully.

"Nah...not yet. They claim they had the drugs all along and didn't have to go to a local supplier. Sooner or later one of them will crack. Then we move in on the bastard."

Lisbon wasn't so sure. "If word gets out we're arresting anyone who has this drug at home or in their barn, the supplier can just pack up and leave. He could be gone by now already" she said correctly.

"And that's why Calderone is keeping this operation hush hush. The families of the farmers who have been arrested haven't been told the real reason they're in custody. What little they know won't tip off our supplier. Agents are out there tonight banging on doors and raiding farms. We'll have more people in handcuffs by morning."

"I hope this is the right way to go" Lisbon said, looking out the window at the lights twinkling in the distance on the main street of Lost Wells. "Someone out there has an agenda that we can only guess at. What makes sense to him might be the last thing that we would think of."

…..

Maggie paced the house, restless and nervous. Maisie watched her with concern as Maggie usually watched her favourite TV shows then fell asleep so easily it made Maisie jealous.

"What's the matter sweetie? Can't sleep?"

Maggie stopped her pacing and sat down, her feelings confusing her and making her even more anxious.

"I just can't sleep cause I'm scared, that's all. Can't stop thinking about all these strangers coming and going, asking so many questions. Even more came tonight. Big men in black suits. It scares me."

Maisie put her arms around her sister and was distressed that all of this made her upset. If only she understood what was going on...if only she could safely tell her about the kidnappings and the murders like she could anyone else, they could discuss it and then let it go. But with Maggie, saying such things would most likely terrify her, and then she'd never leave her room.

"Police are just like everybody else. They have work to do, but not just in an office. Sometimes they go out and talk to people and travel around. If they talk to us it's OK, it doesn't mean we're in trouble sweetie. Is that what you think?"

Maggie knew she hadn't told the whole truth to the lady FBI agent. Did that make her a criminal? Would they take her to a jail like she saw on her TV shows? No, she would keep her mouth shut so she didn't have to leave Maisie alone here at the motel. Yup, that's what she'd do.

"OK, if you say so Maisie." Maggie desperately wanted to change the subject.

"Can we have some ice cream before bed, just for tonight?" she begged.

"Sure Mags, I'll get some, then off you go to bed. It's going to be busy here tomorrow."

Maggie watched her sister move around the kitchen and loved her so much. There was no way she was going to do anything to wreck their happy life here in Lost Wells. Not even by telling the truth.

(Farms - Backcountry)

Simultaneous raids took place all night long, with angry and frightened farm families being roused from their beds by fearsome looking Federal Agents and local Deputies. Barns and homes were turned upside down as the officers searched for the banned drug. Most farmers were innocent and after apologies were made, they returned to bed none the worse for wear, but with a great story to tell. However, 4 more farmers were found to be using the barbiturate on their properties and they were promptly arrested and taken away.

Gus and Jillie were fast asleep when heavy banging on their front door woke them up with a start. Jillie was sure they were being robbed and was terrified. As she ran to hide, Gus summoned up his courage and approached the front door, blinded by the bright lights beaming into his living room windows.

Turning the heavy brass latch, he unlocked the door and faced several large armed men.

"Gus, sorry to wake you like this, but we have to search your place" said a local Deputy who'd known Gus for over 20 years.

"Why? What're ya lookin' for?" Gus asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Contraband, bad stuff, nothing you need to worry about. Just stay inside while we let these men search your barn and house, then we can be on our way" the Deputy said, embarrassed to be doing this to the old guy.

"Well I guess that's alright" Gus said, standing on the front porch as the men ran across his yard and into the barn. As the cattle woke up and started calling out to each other in alarm, Jillie came outside in her robe and put her arm around Gus.

"It's alright honey. They just need to look for something. Nothing to worry about" Gus soothed her.

Both of them stood on the old wooden porch watching the lights move around the large barn, the smaller barn housing old equipment, and inside their old house. 40 minutes later the men were finished and apologized for the upset they had caused.

"Ah it's alright I guess. I don't get much excitement way out here ya know!" Gus laughed as the Deputy said goodnight to them both.

As Gus and Jillie watched the men leave, she shuddered in the night air.

"Well that was strange" she said, then turned to go inside.

"Certainly was…" Gus muttered in agreement.

…..

Jane had dozed off at some point but was awakened by the sounds of shouting, and brilliant lights beaming through the cracks in the ceiling over his head. He stood up as quickly as he could manage and started to scream for help. The FBI must be overhead looking for him! Surely Cho and Lisbon had gathered enough information to raid wherever he was! His shouts went on as long as he believed someone other than his captor was above him. In time, Jane realized no one could hear him. Whatever was being used as camouflage overhead had dampened the sound coming from inside the pit.

No one would find him tonight.

(Lost Wells, 8 a.m.)

Cho was up early and joined Lisbon for their coffee. Abbott woke to the sound of a light tap on his door and when he saw Cho and Lisbon standing with their coffees, he soon joined them.

"I hear we got four more farmers in a raid last night" Lisbon said with a lilt of hope in her voice. "Has anyone given up their source yet?"

Abbott stirred his coffee but had to admit that so far no one was talking. "Not yet, but we're going to lean on them pretty hard today. I figure a night in one of our cells will make them a bit more amenable to making a deal."

"Give me five minutes with them…" Cho said. He meant it. Jane could already be dead and they were sitting on their hands waiting for some hick farmer to name his source for illegal barbiturates.

"Much as that would please me, Calderone's men will handle the interrogations. I think once our farmers are faced with a possible charge of accessory to kidnapping and murder, they might suddenly have an overwhelming urge to talk to us. We'll know soon" Abbott said.

Maisie came around with fresh from the oven danish and turnovers. Maggie had not yet made an appearance, staying inside as much as she could. She could outlast all these scary strangers, she was sure of it.

Abbott pulled a chair up and joined Cho and Lisbon in the early morning sun, enjoying his pastries and coffee. A text message made his phone buzz in his pocket. Abbott read the message and broke out in a beaming smile.

"We got'em. One of our farmers cracked and sang like a bird. Said they have a local supplier that gets the drugs over the border in Mexico. Crosses twice a year and brings back all sorts of goodies."

"Who is it?" Lisbon asked.

"Fred Murdoch, has a store on the main street. Sells vacuums"

"And auto parts" Cho cut in angrily. "I interviewed him about our missing men and he gave me the run around, a real smart ass." He was pissed that he'd missed zeroing on the man. His dismissal of Murdoch might have cost Jane his life. Cho couldn't dwell on it.

"Let's go get him" Lisbon said, swallowing her danish in two bites and scarfing down the last of her coffee.

"Excellent idea. I think this should be your collar Teresa" Abbott said. Abbott left his breakfast unfinished and hopped into the SUV with Cho and Lisbon, hoping to surprise Fred as he opened his store for the day. The drive was a short one and once parked by the shoe shop, the three agents approached the auto parts store. The lights were still off. Abbott texted his agents to make sure Murdoch didn't pull a runner and take off from his house. Who knows if someone tipped him off during the night?

Cho and Lisbon stood just inside the entranceway to the shoe store, and Abbott waited outside the auto parts store, his jacket over his arm. Murdoch didn't know him so wouldn't assume he was a cop. They waited ….and waited...and...waited. Abbott's phone buzzed and he read the text from the agents at Murdoch's house.

"He's gone. The house is empty, his car is gone, and all ID including his passport is missing. A BOLO has been put out for him as he's most likely running to the border as we speak."

"Shit!" Cho spat out. Murdoch was tipped off. This was their one and only lead and he was in the wind. Someone wanted to keep his own identity a secret, someone other than the men in custody.

"That was our only link to whoever's doing this to Jane. Abbott, he might not last much longer if he isn't already dead" Lisbon said, anguish clearly written on her face.

"Let me lean on them Abbott. Someone knows more than they think they have to say" Cho begged him. "Those farmers won't know what hit them."

Abbott headed for the car and got behind the wheel, waiting for Cho and Lisbon. Turning around in his seat, he faced Cho.

"If Calderone gives his blessing, you can do whatever the hell you want with these cowboys. Just give me some names!"

"Thanks Boss" Cho said quietly, then shut down while he contemplated how to deal with these yahoos.

(The Farm, early afternoon)

Jane was beside himself with pain and thirst. As his arm had started to swell the night before, he'd had the foresight to remove his wedding ring. Now, his fingers were as plump and red as sausages. He had taken off his belt and put it around his broken arm and over his neck to make a sling. The less his arm moved, the better.

The old man shuffled out of the front door after a large lunch and gazed across the yard towards his outbuildings. He had a very large barn, as did every farmer out here. He also had a smaller barn at the outer edges of his property and several other smaller buildings to hold old farm equipment, used car parts, old lawn furniture and the assorted flotsam that accumulates during a lifetime. It all looked tired and ready to be knocked down and replaced with something newer, fresher, something more hopeful. He followed the well worn foot path from his front porch to the barn far across the clearing. From there he checked on his cattle, refreshing their water and food. The same routine had taken place every day of his life since he moved out here, and that was a very long time ago. He paused to consider that life had been good to him, as good as a man like him could expect. That's about as philosophical as he got, then he continued walking around his property until he reached the far side of the farmyard and looked at the pile of hay bales stacked neatly against a shack. He knew what lay beneath.

(The Pit)

The sun was bleeding through the cracks in the wooden roof and it showed more of the surroundings in the pit. Decayed food scraps lay in piles, bugs rooting through them as if they were caviar. A pile of human waste lay in a far corner. Someone else had been held here...and not that long ago. A new wave of panic hit Jane. Now he knew for sure the serial killer had taken him. His arm had throbbed all night, but numbness had set in a few hours ago. Thankfully in that short window of time Jane had dozed off, exhausted by pain and anxiety. Whatever the man wanted, Jane hoped he could talk himself out of being killed. A pounding headache sat dully in his brain, fighting for his attention. Thinking clearly would be a problem as long as his head was hurting so much. A scratching sound roused Jane from his thoughts and he looked up. A small window in the wooden ceiling that he had not noticed before opened and a bucket of water was lowered on a rope. When it hit bottom with a splash, Jane crawled over and scooped up some water with his one good hand. A moment later old bread, a nub of cheese and half an apple tumbled down onto the hard packed dirt floor.

"Hello! Talk to me! What do you want from me!" Jane called out to the hidden person above him.

The small window slammed shut. Jane could hear more scraping sounds and guessed that the wooden structure was being camouflaged again. He heard a few footsteps and then, nothing more. He gazed at the food on the floor and had to decide just how hungry he was. For now, the water would suffice. He knew however, that sooner or later, the food would begin to look very good the longer he stayed locked down here in the darkness.

(Lost Wells)

Calderone listened to Abbott's argument to let Cho interrogate the arrested farmers. Cho's motivation was personal, not just professional, and usually that would disqualify him from getting anywhere near the men, but Calderone relented. He had lost his own man and now one of Abbott's best people had also been taken. The least he could do was to let Abbott's agent have a go at the stubborn men. Once his request had been green lighted, Cho was choppered to Houston to begin terrorizing the prisoners.

The short flight and drive to the FBI headquarters gave Cho ample time to get his thoughts together. These bastards sitting in cells had the power to bring down a serial killer. Whatever motivated them into silence, it wasn't good enough. People were dying.


	11. Spilling the Beans

This one's for Rosepeony, and you know why! Two chapters in one day! That doesn't happen very often! Thank you everyone for your reviews, they make me smile.

Return to Me

Chapter 11

Spilling the Beans

There were four interrogation rooms in the bullpen in Houston, and guards brought up 4 of the farmers most recently arrested, putting one in each room. They sat there long enough to get anxious, which was Cho's plan. Cho walked into the first glass encased room and sat down opposite a young man of about 30 years old. He was handcuffed and furious at being under arrest.

Cho read his notes and let the man stew for a few minutes before he looked up and deigned to speak to him.

"Fred Murdoch. Where'd he go?" Cho began.

"Fred who?"

"Cut the crap. You and every single other man in custody from Lost Wells knows who and what Fred Murdoch is. He's your supplier for illegal barbiturates and whatever else you want him to bring in across the border. I see that not only did you have those barbiturates hidden in your barn, you also had cocaine, marijuana and some ecstasy. Planning a rave are you?"

The farmer had been arrested but had no idea the extent of the damning evidence found in his barns.

"Your agents planted those drugs, they're not mine" the farmer argued lamely.

"We planted the drugs? Why'd we do that when we could be out finding a kidnapper and murderer? We don't have the time to make up fake charges. Two of our agents are gone, taken by this lunatic and you will be charged as an accessory if we discover that you withheld evidence that would lead to the killer's arrest."

"You're lyin'" barked the farmer, a little less confident now.

"Try me" Cho answered, slamming his file shut and getting up. "I want names, I want inside information about Murdoch's operation and all of his buyers. While I'm gone, you would be wise to consider your options. I suspect that will jog your memory."

He left the man shackled to the table then went to the next interrogation room. Here he found a much younger man, only about 24 years old. He was young but cocky, sure that whatever the cops thought they had on him was only bullshit...he'd be out in a few hours laughing at them all the way back to Lost Wells. Screw them…

Cho consulted his file again. What he saw wasn't good.

"Drew Mackie. One arrest for jacking a car, arrested for selling cigarettes to a minor, arrested for possession, arrested for arson, arrested for extreme animal cruelty." Cho looked up at the smirking young man and saw a defiant, cruel man who would most likely end up at the State Prison or dead before he was 30.

"Most serial killers start out small, torturing insects, mice, cats, dogs, working their way up to humans. Are you there already Drew? Did you make the leap from abusing street cats to killing full grown men?"

"Jesus no! What the hell?" Drew shouted. "You're crazy man!"

"OK. Let's think smaller. How would you like accessory to kidnapping and murder added to your rap sheet?"

This got the man's attention. Drew sat up straighter, sneering at the man making the accusations.

"I know what this is. This is just a fishing expedition. You need something and think you can scare me with false accusations. Nice try buddy!"

Cho waited until the man had stopped grinning and calmed down. When Mackie was done puffing out his chest and showing Cho how brave he was, Cho continued.

"Fred Murdoch is the supplier of banned barbiturates and any other drug wanted in and around Lost Wells. You're one of those customers. I want names, I want dates and locations. I want to know everything you know about Murdoch's operation and I want that information now."

"So ask Murdoch. Why ask me? I'm just a poor stupid farmer" grinned the man, playing dumb.

"We would do that but someone tipped Murdoch off and by now he's probably sipping Tequila in a bar in Juarez, with schmucks like you holding the bag back in Texas. Now pay attention to what I'm about to say Drew. You're in custody because of the drugs we found in your barn. That connects you to the disappearance of several men and two Federal Agents. I want the names of every person who bought drugs from Murdoch. Otherwise we'll be looking at you as an accessory to murder."

Mackie's mocking sneer fell off his face as the realization of his precarious position finally hit him. Rattling his handcuffs at Cho, he leaned forward and issued a warning to the agent.

"I ain't done none of those things. You got nothin'! Nothin' on me but simple possession. What's a few joints to you? Kidnapping? Murder? That's bullshit man! Keep talkin' that way and you'll be missin' like them other two Feds!"

Cho smiled at the man. He had just threatened a Federal Agent!

"You don't get any smarter with time do you Drew? I just added intimidation and threatening harm to a Federal Agent to your arrest warrant. Good job, should add a few years to your sentence."

With that, Cho stood up and started to walk out of the room, leaving Drew open mouthed and scared.

"I was just jokin'. No offense eh? Just kiddin'!" he shouted at Cho's rapidly receding back. Cho stopped at the door and turned back to glare at Drew.

"I don't joke, and you're going to prison."

The door slammed shut and Drew watched Cho walk away. A sick feeling filled Drew's gut. What had he just done to himself?

The next room had an older man sitting at the stainless steel table. He was clearly terrified. Cho entered and sat opposite to him, reading his case file at his leisure. The prisoner was about 50, well groomed, quiet, nervous and desperate to get home again to his wife and kids. He had been picked up a few hours ago in the dead of night.

Cho looked up at the man, John Garton.

"Mr. Garton. You seem surprised to be here."

"Well yes! I am...I mean...I've never been in trouble with the law, ever! Why am I here?" he stammered.

Cho could see in the file that indeed, Mr. Garton had never so much as gotten a traffic ticket. Compared to most people arrested by the FBI, he was a saint. But he had illegal barbiturates hidden in a cupboard in his barn. He had protested his innocence all the way to Houston.

"You're here because we're raiding all of the farms outside Lost Wells, looking for drugs and information about the abduction and murder of several men. Fred Murdoch is a supplier of banned barbiturates, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, pot...the list goes on. He's your supplier, correct?"

John Garton looked stunned. Shaking his head vigorously, he denied everything.

"No! I know Fred, but only because I bought some car parts from him last month, and six months ago I got my wife a new vacuum cleaner for her birthday. I didn't know he sold drugs! Why would I?"

Cho sat back in his chair, trying to gauge if this man was telling the truth. All indications were that he was. But he had the drugs in his barn. That was indisputable.

"Why did our agents find barbiturates in your barn Mr. Garton? What did you use them for? Do you euthanize your animals with them?"

Garton shook his head, confused, scared, embarrassed.

"I don't! I have no idea where they came from or why they're there...and I wouldn't know what to do with them anyway...we got rid of the last of our cattle last year! We don't even have a pet dog on our property!" Garton was truly afraid. He had no idea who had planted drugs in his barn.

Cho tried another tactic.

"Has anyone visited you recently, stayed with you, maybe rented a room from you and your wife?"

Garton went pale. Yes...of course.

"Oh my God...my nephew…"

"What about your nephew John?"

Garton looked at Cho like he was a deer staring at headlights on a highway.

"He got out of prison just after Christmas last year. His folks didn't want him to come back to live with them, not until he could prove he was clean and willing to get a job, earn back their trust. So we offered him a room at our place. Thought living out in the back of beyond would straighten him out and get him away from bad influences."

"Mr. Garton, what was your nephew in prison for?"

Garton looked down at his hands in defeat. "He was in for drug possession."

Cho wrote something in the file and leaned forward, his tone kinder.

"Mr. Garton, I believe your story. I don't think you knew the drugs were there. Where is your nephew now?"

Garton looked relieved, but sad.

"He's dead. Got into a fight in Mesa a month ago and got knifed. We sent his stuff home to his parents. He must have bought those drugs and hidden them in the barn while he was living with us. I can't….I don't want his mother to find out about this…" he said softly. "She thought he was done with that life."

Cho stood up and patted the man on the shoulder.

"Thank you for your cooperation. You'll be out of here soon and on your way back home."

"So I'm not going to jail?" the man asked in shock.

"We'll need to check out your story. If everything you said is true, you'll be released from custody."

Garton's shoulders sagged in relief. "Thanks...thank you so much…"

Cho made a note in his file to make sure all charges against Mr. Garton were dropped as soon as possible. That done, he walked to the last interrogation room. A much older man sat there, angry and pious in his indignation. He was still dressed in his striped cotton pajamas and he was pissed. Cho sat down and quickly read his notes while the man watched him with barely disguised hatred.

When Cho took too long to acknowledge him, the man spoke first.

"Who're you?"

Cho looked up, closing the file quietly. "I'm Agent Kimball Cho of the Austin FBI."

"Austin? What the hell is an agent from Austin doing in Houston? Can't they get a white agent down here to do his job?" the racist snared.

Cho had run into this kind of hatred his whole life. The slurs never got any easier to hear, but education, patience and a gun on his hip had levelled the playing field considerably. It also help that the man hurling racial epithets was, after all, the one in handcuffs.

"The FBI works cooperatively with offices all across Texas and America. Agents of all colours, religions and ethnicities are sworn to enforce the law Mr…..Mills. So whether or not I'm white, green or pink, you're still in a pile of trouble. Am I clear?" Cho explained dispassionately.

Mr. Mills stared at Cho with undisguised hatred. This man represented everything he hated about America right now. Sitting here facing a man in a position of power, dressed in a black suit, his fate in his hands and an Asian of all things, suddenly made Mills acutely aware of his grizzled appearance, and his current state of near undress. His pride couldn't take it.

"What's clear to me is that you and your like had no right raiding the sanctity of my home, my farm, scaring my wife half to death in the middle of the night. I live in the sovereign State of Texas, and you have no authority over me. When I'm through with you Agent, you'll wish you'd stayed in Austin, or China, or wherever the hell you came from, understand?" he shouted.

Cho folded his arms across his chest. If he and Jane had stayed in Austin, none of this would be their concern and Jane wouldn't be missing. His anger at this man was growing by the minute but he had to keep himself in check.

"Mr. Mills, the last time I checked, Texas was still part of America, and you are a citizen of America, just like me. As for your arrest, every farm in the region was raided last night. We rounded up many of your neighbors who are as guilty as you are of having contraband drugs hidden in their homes or barns. So when this is all over, when I'm through with YOU, I'm not the one who's going to be sorry. Now if you're finished digging a deeper hole for yourself, let's get down to business. Your answers in the next few minutes will determine if you go home today, or if you spend the next few years getting to know your new neighbours in the Federal Prison. Understand?"

Mr. Mills was momentarily stunned by Cho's threat. Prison? What the hell was all this about?

As he was about to open his mouth to rant some more, Cho cut him off.

"Mr. Mills, as you no doubt are aware, several men are missing, that's why we're investigating in and around Lost Mills. Another man was taken yesterday, an FBI consultant and my best friend. If I suspect you had anything to do with his disappearance, you'll be facing life in prison without parole. So think very carefully before you speak. Got it?"

"Yes. Got it" Mills said much more contritely. Suddenly the air in the room got a lot chillier.

"Who did you buy your barbiturates from?" Cho asked, already knowing the answer.

Mills looked askance and knew he had to answer. The handcuffs bit into his fleshy wrists. He didn't want to be wearing them for the rest of his life.

"Fred Murdoch. He was the main supplier in town. Everybody knew it, at least most of the farmers. A few goody goodies had no clue, but if you asked around, you could get anything you wanted."

"And why did you need barbiturates Mr. Mills?"

"My animals! Do you know what it costs to get a vet to come out to the farm and treat your sick animals and then put them down? Then you have to pay to truck the carcass outta there. So it was better to get the drugs and put my animals down myself. Saved a bundle over the years" he explained to the agent. Hell, it made perfect sense to him, but to city folks, who knows?

"I want names Mr. Mills. Give me the names of anyone and everyone you know who was a customer of Murdoch."

"Ask him yourself. I ain't no squealer" Mills said defiantly.

"I'd do that, but it seems Fred ran off in the night to the safety of Mexico. Looks like one of your neighbours tipped him off and he left all of you to clean up his mess. So, none of your friends is to be trusted it seems. The names...give them to me."

"I have no idea who else bought from Fred" Mills lied.

"But you said everybody knew Fred was the supplier, most of the farmers, but suddenly you have amnesia" Cho chided him.

"That's right. I do" Mills said. He sat back, seemingly daring Cho to do something. Cho didn't disappoint him.

"OK. I'll tell the agent in charge to process you for a cell in the Federal Prison while they finish speaking to the other farmers who come in."

Cho stood up and walked to the door. Mills suddenly realized he was really going to prison.

"NO! Wait...let me think...I might remember…" he sputtered.

"You do that" Cho said as he slipped out of the door.

Mills watched him disappear down the hall and suddenly had the overwhelming urge to throw up. He'd screwed up, badly.

Cho returned to the first room again and laid down his demands for more names, then did so at the second room. The threat of going immediately to prison to wait for their court date might just loosen some tongues. Both men suddenly remembered much more than they had a few minutes ago. Names and addresses were listed, along with other bits of information about Fred Murdoch. Seems drugs weren't his only business. When Cho got back to Mills, he had experienced a conversion worthy of his good Christian background. He sang like a bird. The list of men to check out had grown exponentially and Cho texted the information to Calderone and Abbott in Lost Wells. By the time Cho got back on the chopper, he was hopeful that Jane was being held on one of those farms. It was only a matter of time before they found him.


	12. Revealing the Truth

Well another weekend is almost here, a new chapter will keep you going for awhile. Your reviews are wonderful, thank you everyone! I have a couple to answer and will do that today, but your comments are always so welcome, and often, educational. Anyway, here we go...

Return to Me

Chapter 12

Revealing the Truth

Maisie had cut Maggie some slack, seeing how upset she was the previous night about Mr. Jane's kidnapping, but by late afternoon, it was time for Maggie to come out of her room and help out around the motel. The Federal Agents had been joined by many more law enforcement officers and were using the empty room at the end of the motel as a conference room. Cho's texted list had caused a flurry of activity as there were far more people who now had to be checked out. Not all of Fred Murdoch's customers were farmers. Sadly, several of the names that appeared on the list were highly respected citizens of the town. A few teachers, a minister, quite a few teenagers who relied on Fred for their pot, and some farmers who somehow escaped a raid the previous night. As teams were organized to go and search homes, offices, businesses and more farms, every available cop was involved in the ongoing search.

Maisie almost had to drag Maggie out of the house to help keep the police and agents supplied with coffee, cold drinks, cookies and sandwiches. Maggie did as little as she could then would sneak off to hide in the office behind the curtain until Maisie pulled her out again.

"Maggie! This has got to stop! No one is mad at you and no one is going to hurt you! What happened to Mr. Jane has nothing to do with us, do you understand me?" Maisie told her sister in exasperation.

"But what if …"

"There are no 'but what ifs' !" Maisie interrupted. "I need you to help me around here today. As soon as these men find where Mr. Jane and the other men are, they'll all go back where they came from and life will get back to normal again. OK?" Maisie said, pulling her sister out of the alcove and away from the TV.

"OK…" Maggie said meekly, not really believing what her sister was telling her. Not after what she'd seen.

"Now I want you to go to the kitchen and bring over the cake I baked. We can slice it up and offer it to the officers while they work. It's the least we can do to be helpful" Maisie instructed her. "Off you go!"

Maggie slouched away from the office and took her time getting to the house. She couldn't wait for this day to be over.

Cho arrived back in Lost Wells in time to join the meeting in the motel room. The officers were going over the list of names to plan the best way to snare their suspects before they could leave town. Lisbon was sitting off to one side, the list in her hands.

"See anything interesting?" Cho asked her.

"Hi Cho! Based on this list, you must have scared the crap outta those men" she grinned.

"I hope so...it was kinda fun" he had to admit. "Got any ideas what we need to do now?"

Lisbon held out the list and grabbed another paper she had written on.

"I was just comparing the names of the people we raided last night to the list of names you got today."

"OK? What of it?"

"Well, there's some overlapping of names."

"I expected that. Those men would have been in contact with each other."

"True...but some of the people who got raided last night didn't have any drugs on their property."

"Yes.

"So, why are they on the list you got today Cho?"

Cho looked at Lisbon and the list of names taken last night.

"A mistake? Bad blood between neighbours? Maybe a way to waste our time by muddying the waters?" Cho guessed.

Lisbon bit her lip in thought. "I don't think so. The men sitting in custody in Houston don't have any idea who else got raided last night. They were offering up names of people that they thought were Fred Murdoch's customers. So why didn't we see drugs on those properties last night Cho?"

Cho grabbed Lisbon's list and had to agree, she had a point. Did the police raids miss something? And if they missed something after a thorough search, could they have missed someone as well?

"Cho, what if one of those farms does have drugs hidden on it. And if we missed the drugs in a raid, could we have missed a kidnap victim as well? What if we dismissed the person responsible for taking all of those men and killing them?"

Cho looked at Lisbon with a sinking feeling. Could they have walked right past Jane and not known it?

"I'll get Calderone and Abbott to arrange raids on all of the farms owned by anyone whose name appears on your list, anyone who looks clean" Cho told her.

"Thanks Cho. I don't think we have much time left. Whoever has Jane isn't going to keep him around now that the police are out there searching so close to home. For all we know, the kidnapper could already have been tipped off."

Cho stood up and walked with Lisbon to his room where it was much quieter. A few rings of Cho's phone brought Abbott in on the conversation.

"OK, leave it with me. Our teams have been assembled to check out the new names on your list, but I'll call you back about re-checking the people named and already searched" he said, convinced this new idea needed to be investigated.

"Lisbon and I want to be on one of those teams Boss. We can't just sit here waiting any longer" Cho told Dennis.

"Done. Be ready to move when I call."

"Will do."

Lisbon looked at Cho expectantly. "We're up" he said, reaching for his gun and checking his ammo. "Abbott's getting a new team organized to search the names collated today. We'll just wait for his call."

Lisbon ran back to her room and grabbed her gun and extra clip. She hoped it wouldn't come to a fire fight, but she was ready to shoot if necessary.

All across Lost Wells, police were knocking on doors, interrupting coffee breaks and arresting people wherever they were. No home, schoolroom, business or church office was spared. So many upstanding citizens were led off in handcuffs that few good families were spared the shame of a relative or friend being detained. The scandal was historic in its scope.

(The Farm)

Jane drank water whenever hunger pangs were at their worst. Staying hydrated would help him survive for many days, even without food. There had been no movement from above for hours and while that meant he was safe, what else did it mean? What was his captor waiting for? He could hear cattle in the distance and sometimes the sounds of someone very close by the pit. So what was this guy's plan for Jane? Then he heard voices, a woman's voice. So the kidnapper wasn't alone here. Could he be waiting for this woman to leave, to deal with Jane without a witness? Being unconscious when he was dumped into the pit gave Jane absolutely nothing to work with, no clue as to where he was and what kind of person had clubbed him over the head and left him here to rot. But a woman was up above.

"Help me! Get me outta here! I'm being held hostage by that man up there! Hellllllllp!" Jane yelled, straining his voice to be heard.

Nothing.

If he could hear the woman, why couldn't she hear him? Even though it seemed hopeless, Jane kept calling for help long after the people above ground had left and gone inside. Jane called for attention until his throat was raw. Whatever chance he had to be heard was gone now, of that he was sure. Reaching into the bucket he drew out a handful of cool water and let it soothe his throat and fill his stomach. He hoped this was not going to turn into another long cold night in a hole in the ground.

(Mercury Motel)

Maisie and Maggie collected the plates and cups from the officers in the motel and walked back to the house to wash the dishes. Maggie took her time and was much quieter than usual. Maisie was worried about her sister and tried to think of something that would distract her. Of course...the perfect solution to her worries was so obvious.

"Maggie, how would you like to go and visit Mamma Jillie when we get the dishes done?"

Maggie almost dropped the plate she was holding. Maisie never suggested she go out into the country all by herself. She always had to sneak off and take the car!

"Uh...but why Maisie?" Maggie asked, confused. This week was getting stranger and stranger.

"Well, because you're not very happy being here right now and Mamma Jillie always cheers you up. And Poppa Gus loves it when you drop in to visit. I'm sure you could stay for supper tonight, and if you're real good, maybe even have a sleep over! How would that be?"

"A sleepover? Like when I was little?" Maggie asked, suddenly elated at the idea of such a girlie thing to do. She vaguely remembered having sleep overs with her girlfriends so many years ago. She wasn't sure considering all that was going on right now...but if Maisie thought it was a good idea…

"Do you think Poppa Gus and Mamma Jillie will want to see me so soon after my last visit?" Maggie asked.

"Sweetie, you could go and visit every day and they would be the happiest people on earth. Go on now, brush your hair and your teeth and you can go as soon as I'm free. Just drive with care OK? I'll call them and tell them you're coming."

Maggie put down her tea towel and headed off to her bathroom to get ready. Boy, Maisie sure was acting strange. 'Usually she wants me to stay home', thought Maggie. Sometimes people were so hard to figure out.

Maisie got busy with her motel guests and didn't get around to Maggie again for another hour. Finally she left the office and found her sister waiting on the front steps of the house, car keys in hand.

Walking Maggie to their old red car, Maisie gave her the usual warnings about driving carefully. That out of the way, Maggie eased the car out onto the road and waved goodbye to her sister from behind the wheel. For a moment, just a moment, the old Maggie seemed to be waving at Maisie, a woman eager for a new adventure. As soon as the car was out of sight, Maisie turned back towards the motel to continue her chores. She got swept up into her work and completely forgot to call Mamma Jillie. When she did remember, she just brushed it off. Jillie and Gus would be pleasantly surprised at Maggie's arrival, as usual.

Maggie drove down the street feeling free. The car gave her a taste of life that everyone around her took for granted at her age. But being in her fifties chronologically didn't change the fact that she was a youngster at heart. She saw the town she loved slide by as she left the outskirts of Lost Wells and headed towards the highway. She knew every inch of this road, and felt happy to be away from the craziness back at the motel. The farm was a long way off so she turned on the radio and relaxed as the miles rolled by with almost no traffic to slow her down. Eventually she turned off the main road and took the dirt road that led into the backcountry. Maggie was both excited and apprehensive about dropping in to visit Ben's parents. What if they were busy? What if they weren't home? What if…

Maggie let her mind roam as she contemplated thoughts that a woman of her age shouldn't have had to worry about. She was a child, after all.

(Raids)

Within minutes of being organized, teams of police started back out into the town and country to raid the farms and homes of people they had missed the previous night. Armed with new names, the arrest count was sure to rise by the evening. With luck, no one would fight back and everyone would be home safe in their beds tonight. Some of the farms that had been searched the night before were to be checked again, much to the anger of the owners who were fed up with all of this nonsense. The searches took much longer this time and everything was opened, overturned and dug up. Within an hour, the police found their first cache of illegal drugs on a farm they had previously inspected. And so it would continue for hours and hours to come.

(The Pit)

Jane had spent his time all afternoon trying to make handholds in the earthen wall so that he could climb up and out of the pit. How he would raise the roof if he managed to get to the top of the pit was questionable, but he had to try nonetheless. With only one good hand, he scraped and gouged the moist earth and made some holes in the wall deep enough to get a toe hold. When he had reached as far up as he could, he realized that without the use of both hands, he could go no further. Even if he got both feet lodged in the holes he had dug into the slick wall, he had to hold on with one hand in order to dig out the next hole. He tried to jam his left elbow into the handhold while he continued to dig another hole above it but his broken arm screamed at the pressure he was putting on it, and he had to drop back to the ground. Realizing the futility of his escape attempt, he stopped this useless exercise and sat against the wall in frustration. What was the kidnapper waiting for? Why was he being ignored? Judging from the sun coming through the slats in the ceiling boards at an slight angle, it was mid-afternoon and soon it would be evening. His stomach rumbled in distress but Jane steadfastly refused to consider eating the bug infested food that sat on the other side of the pit.

"Hello! Hey you up there! Let's talk! Let's get to know each other!" Jane yelled. Either this would speed up his rescue, aid in his escape, or cause his death. Who knew? But he had to move this along.

"Hello! What do you want?" he yelled. Silence reigned. He now wished he had his jacket with him to wrap around his chest. The dampness and his fatigue were getting to him. If he could just get some good sleep…

Scraping noises alerted Jane to activity overhead. He stood up and gazed at the ceiling, expecting the small door to open and another handful of food to be thrown down. Instead, he heard the sound of a small tractor revving close by. His heart pounded in anticipation. What was happening up there? Had he been found? He hoped the first face he saw was Teresa's. As the tractor engine got louder, he noticed the wooden roof above him start to slide to one side, suddenly revealing a blue sky. When the opening was wide enough for a slim man to pass through, a slender ladder was dropped down into the hole.

"Climb up!" a man barked.

Jane's hands started to sweat. Someone had heard him, apparently. Well he had no other options left, so he grabbed onto a rung with his good hand and slowly made his way to the surface where he was dragged roughly by his shirt over the lip of the pit onto the hard warm earth above.

"Stand up!" a man commanded him.

Jane struggled to stand and eventually got to his feet, his captor glaring silently at him. An older man stood facing him with a rifle in his hand. He looked just like any other farmer of a certain age, weathered, strong, fiercely independent, and fully armed. Jane raised his one arm high in the air, his other arm useless in its current condition. He tried to remember if he'd seen this man in town or the restaurant, but so far, his was a new face.

"Hello...thanks for letting me out of the pit" Jane said amiably.

"Shut up and go over there" the farmer indicated, pointing with his rifle towards a hay bale set under a portico by the barn furthest from the house.

"Ok...on my way…" Jane said. He walked to the shady spot and the man indicated that he should sit.

Jane sat and looked around. He was on a nondescript farm far from town. It had once been well maintained but now it just looked worn out, like the man holding the gun on him. He spied the outbuildings and the small barn, it's door wide open. Inside, between the discarded farm equipment and old furniture, he saw a small flash of blue. Tucking that information away, he turned back to the man standing 6 feet in front of him.

"So what's this all about? None of this was necessary" Jane said cautiously.

The old farmer spat on the ground and seemed disappointed in Jane's statement.

"How's about you tell me what this is about?"

Jane didn't know how to proceed, but he felt strongly that whatever he said in the next few minutes could be the difference between life or death.

"You know me, and I know you…" Jane began carefully, guessing. The old man seemed surprised at this response and smiled slightly. Jane had to cold read him from now on as it could save him from a bullet to the brain.

"Go on…" the old man said. "Tell me where you are, then tell me who I am."

That statement gave Jane a lot of information to use. This guy thought Jane would know this place, so it had to be familiar to his captive. Jane was supposed to know his name as well, so in the old man's mind, they both knew each other. A lot of good information to work with. Jane looked around and tried to pick up any useful clues that he could use. Against the barn leaned an old green bike, with a folded piece of cardboard stuck in the wheel with a clothespin. If you rode it, the sound the cardboard made was like an engine sputtering. Typical boyish fun for boring rides. A childish painting of a scarecrow was barely visible on the side of the small barn, the paint so faded only the echo of the drawing remained.

The flash of blue in the barn intrigued him and he felt it was important too. He gazed around the other side of the property and saw the house in the distance. Music was coming from an open window, music that a woman would like, Engelbert Humperdinck if he guessed correctly. Why would a single man be listening to that cheesy music? He was correct earlier in the day, a woman did live here, an older one based on her taste in music.

"Well...talk!" the man yelled, raising his gun higher.

Jane turned and faced the old man. Now he had to stall for time and do the best reading of his life.

"Yes, this is the farm...you and the missus have been here a long time, haven't you?"

"We sure have."

"And your son, he lived here too. That's his green bike over there" Jane indicated, pointing at the bike against the wall covered in a heavy layer of Texas dust. The old farmer almost dropped his rifle when Jane said this.

"He loved that bike, didn't he? He loved to ride it and make it sound as loud as possible with a paper flipper on the spokes. Drove his mother crazy!" Jane hazarded.

The old man smiled in spite of himself at the memory of his child doing that. "Yes, he did."

"He was your best friend, still is, always will be, no matter what, isn't that right?" Jane said soothingly. "And you want to see him again very much, don't you?" he said, hoping he was right and not way off base in this assumption.

Seeing the light in the old man's eyes at the mention of his son, Jane knew he was on the right track. The gun wielding farmer said nothing to affirm Jane's guess.

"You couldn't even really get too mad when your boy painted on the side of the barn. You thought it was funny even though you punished your boy."

The farmer had a strong urge to turn and look at the faded scarecrow now that this mysterious man had brought it up. But he held fast, his gun still aimed at Jane's head. For his part, Jane spoke as soothingly as he could to bring down this man's level of distrust.

"I bet if we went into the barn over there, we'd find something really special, wouldn't we?" Jane suggested, desperate to gain more information as his guessing had its limits. "Can I have a look?" he pressed the old man. "It's been a long time."

The old man was falling under Jane's persuasive spell.

"Don't you remember it? You loved it" the old man said, not realizing he had given Jane another huge indication as to his identity.

"Of course, but you must understand what it would mean to me to see it again" Jane cooed softly, standing cautiously. "Why don't we both go over and look together?" he asked.

The farmer studied Jane with suspicion. Was this a trick, like all the other tricks those other men had pulled on him? Was he being played for a fool?

"Of course I don't blame you for keeping your favourite gun on me, who wouldn't, right? You need to know if it's me or not" Jane said, taking a step forward to test the man's resolve.

"My arm is broken unfortunately, so you don't have to worry about me in the least. Please, can I take a peek? It won't take long."

The old man took a step backwards and waved his gun at Jane, telling him to move on and walk towards the small barn. Jane felt a surge of elation. Whatever was in the barn was very important to the old man and apparently, now, to Jane. They walked in silence towards the old building and when Jane reached the doorway, he found what he had hoped to see.

"It's a beauty, isn't it?" Jane said, turning to the old man, smiling broadly. "Who wouldn't love it?" he asked, luring the old man to talk.

"You tell me" the old guy replied, too smart to give much more away and too emotional to speak.

Jane stepped forward into the barn. "Can I take a closer look?"

"Go ahead, but don't touch nothin'" the farmer warned him.

Jane walked over to the crumpled and rusted blue convertible in amazement, noting the colour and make, then turned back to the farmer with a smile.

"You kept it after the accident. Thank you."

The farmer almost wept with emotion. Could this be the one? Was he looking at his heart's desire after all these years or was this man just a lying son of a bitch?

"Tell me. Tell me about this car. Tell me who you are" the old man demanded, raising his gun squarely at Jane's face.

Jane raised his hand above his head and backed off. Then he turned and looked at the car again. He studied every inch of it, what he could see of it. There was a fine layer of dust covering all of it but enough of the vehicle told a story that could save Jane's life.

Jane walked over to the car and smiled. Then he faced the man with the rifle and made the biggest gamble of his life. He had to become someone else.

"This is my car. My favourite car of all of them. I had a jeep too and it was strong and sturdy, but this was my favourite. I always wanted a convertible and I finally got one."

He spoke to the old man with a smile fixed on his face and a slight Texas twang in his voice. "I drove it every chance I got, even when I shouldn't have. That day, I should have taken my jeep, but I wanted to impress her. Stupid of me. We had such a nice time, cruising around. Then Maggie and me, we decided to get an ice cream cone from the Dippin' Dairy. As we drove outta Lost Wells towards the motel, we decided to come back out here, to see you guys." The information that Maisie had told Lisbon was priceless and Jane tried to remember every word Lisbon had said.

Turning to stare at the car, Jane played his biggest card, hoping it would be enough to save his life.

"I drove it until the accident, with Margaret. She loved this car too, didn't she? And now it's all I have left" Jane said with trepidation. "I've missed this car, this farm, this life." Turning to face the old man, he said the words the old man had been killing people to hear.

"It's good to be home again. I missed you and Mamma."

The old man shuddered in confusion and hope. He stood rooted to the spot and almost put his gun down, almost. As Jane watched the conflicted emotions play over the old man's face, he felt he had hit the bullseye. Maybe he had guessed his way into saving his own life.

The old man grinned slightly and sniffed back a tear.

"Ben? Is it really you?"


	13. Hello, It's Me!

Well Monday is going to be a crazy day! A solar eclipse is a big deal. If you live in the part of the world where you get a total eclipse, it will be wonderful. I don't know what we will get here. At least you get another chapter. Enjoy!

Return to Me

Chapter 13

Hello, It's Me!

Cho and Lisbon got the call 5 minutes later and left to join Abbott for the trip out of town. Abbott wanted to keep Cho and Lisbon close. There was no way he was going to lose another agent.

"Where to first?" Lisbon asked.

"Little farm about 15 miles from here. The guy seemed straight as an arrow last night and nothing was found. He might be clean, but we'd better check again. One of these guys could be our perp."

Their list had 4 names on it. It wouldn't take long to work their way through it but searching again would be a pain. By now the perp could have moved his stash offsite to a spot out in the desert. They could be wasting time they didn't have to lose. Unless someone identified their kidnapper from the sketch that was on every pole, window and business in Lost Wells, they could be no further ahead tonight than they were right now. But they had to do whatever it took to bring Jane home.

(The Farm)

The old farmer stood rooted to the ground, stunned by what his prisoner had just said. He knew everything! He had recognized his old bike, talked about the painting on the barn, knew the blue convertible, even knew Ben had once had a jeep too. This guy knew that Ben drove the convertible the night of the accident, the night that changed so many lives, changed Maggie forever. But this man only looked a bit like Ben. Oh sure he had the blond hair and was well built, spoke well, maybe better, than Ben. So much time had passed, so of course he would mature, speak better. Yes, that was the reason! But he looked different somehow. The old farmer stared at Jane, trying to connect the dots. Then it occurred to him why this man looked different. Of course! In the old man's mind, Ben had become an idealized son, never changing from the time before his accident.

Another new idea lit up the old man's brain.

"If you're Ben, tell me my name son."

Jane took a leap of faith. If he got this wrong, he'd be dead in a minute.

"You're my father Gus Collins, and if I'm not mistaken, over there at the house my mother Jillie is making supper. And she still loves music" Jane said smoothly. "Has her hearing gotten worse in the last few years?"

Gus's heart skipped a beat. Could it be true? He kept a grip on his rifle, staring at this man proclaiming to be a ghost from the past. Gus still made no move to embrace his 'son'. He had one more question as his emotions threatened to boil over.

"Why'd you go away son? We thought you were dead...you WERE dead...everybody said so!"

Jane felt a bead of sweat drip down his back. His head was swimming and he felt nauseous. What could he say to refute the fact that this man's son had died years ago? There had been no question about that fact, no question in anyone's mind except in Gus's. What had Maisie said? He had the beginnings of dementia? If this man in front of him was killing people after discovering they weren't his long dead son, it wasn't just a touch of dementia. This man was seriously ill, and dangerous.

"I...I felt so bad, so responsible for what happened to Maggie...I couldn't stay. I asked old Doc Klassen to say I was dead, so I could just go away and forget all about the accident and Lost Wells. I thought I could stay away, but I just couldn't anymore. Can you forgive me?" Jane asked the old man.

Employing his trick of asking someone for something to make a connection, Jane waited for Gus's response.

The old man didn't need any more convincing. He needed to believe so badly that for him, this was his son back from the grave. His addled brain had all the proof it needed. Gus suddenly sprang into action. He embraced Jane in a hug so tight it hurt his broken arm. Jane felt like a heel fooling the heartbroken, dangerous old man, but he had to stay alive. Not being able to avoid it, Jane allowed the old man to hug him until he had better control of himself. He didn't dare do anything to break this bubble of unreality.

"Ben, oh God, Ben! I missed you so much! I've been lookin' for you for so long! I just knew my boy wasn't dead. Can you forgive me for hittin' you?"

"I understand...you did what you had to do" Jane answered so as not to antagonize the man he had just won over.

"Thanks Ben. Sorry I had to hit you yesterday son...I just had to be sure it was you. There's so many bad folks out there who pretended to be you, but I got'em! They couldn't fool old Gus for long!" he said joyfully. "They're out there, rotting in the sun for what they done to me!" he said, pointing into the desert. Jane followed Gus's finger and knew where the FBI had to go and look for the bodies.

Gus stepped up to Jane, needing to fill his 'son' in on news he might not be aware of.

"Doc Klassen died of cancer soon after the accident, did you know that Ben?" the farmer said, finally believing everything Jane had answered.

"I know, I'm sorry about that. He was good to me. How's Maggie?" Jane asked, changing the subject.

Gus Collins smiled at the mention of the woman. "Oh she's just fine, a real sweetie. She comes out here and pays us a visit every now and then. She's not right in the head you know, but she's still a great girl" Gus told Jane.

"Good to hear. Um...do you think I could have a bit of food? I'm not feeling all that well" Jane said, feeling a bit woozy. Now that he had fooled the old man, maybe he could also sweet talk Mrs. Collins into thinking her boy was back, either that or hypnotize her.

"Let's go surprise your mother, Ben!" Gus said, pulling Jane towards the house.

Jane walked alongside Gus and hoped he would soon be on his way to safety. Gus had just admitted to killing all those missing men. Did he also find and kill the FBI agent for some reason?

"I know you did what you had to do. I'll be alright as soon as I have a snack and a drink if you don't mind" Jane said to the old man.

"One snack, coming right up son!" Gus said happily. "You always were the hungry boy!"

Gus was living in the past right now, and the man he was looking at had suddenly reverted back to being his little boy.

"I do have a question, something you said got my attention. Why did so many men pretend they were me? I don't get why they did that?" Jane asked, neatly playing dumb and allowing Gus to preen and incriminate himself.

"Oh it's no mystery son. It's the land, it's worth a fortune don't you know! Why, everybody wants to buy this land from under me...but it's mine, and then, it'll be yours. I think there's oil under this sand son! Don't you think?" Gus fantasized, in a world of his own. The land was worthless and had been for a long time. Dragging Jane along with his arm around his shoulder, Gus continued.

"There was this one fella, Robert Thomas, tried to spy on me! He was sellin' off his grandmother's stuff after she died...nice old woman, we was friends...and he offered to help deliver some furniture I bought at auction at the house. But once he got here and unloaded the furniture from the back of my truck, he started snoopin' around while I was in the house! Snoopin' around back there" Gus pointed, towards the barn door set into the ground.

"Why do you think he was spying on you?" Jane asked, suddenly realizing how Agent Thomas came into contact with Gus, and why he died.

Gus stopped walking and got a crazed look in his eyes. Everything made such perfect sense to him, the long lost dead son back from the grave, the imposters who dared to look like Ben who didn't deserve to live once they proved to be someone else, the need to kill Robert Thomas for wandering around the farmyard, getting too close to the prisoner already in the pit in the ground…

"He was checkin' out my land, seeing what he was goin' to do with it. But this land was meant to be yours when I go to my heavenly reward!" Gus explained. "Then he found the pit, knew something was goin' on...he made threats…"

Turning to Jane with a smile, he ended the mystery of the missing agent.

"Some of them other folks tried to make me believe that you'd come back to me, to this farm. But they couldn't answer a single question right. Not one! I had to show them how evil they were. And that Thomas guy...he found the pit...thought he'd run and get the police out here...said he was a Federal Agent! An FBI Agent!"

Gus snorted with derision. The idea that an FBI Agent was going to expose what he'd been doing seemed too ridiculous, so impossible.

"I shot him as soon as he turned his back on me. Thought I was a feeble old man. Now who's the dummy?" he laughed.

Jane had no doubt that Robert Thomas had discovered a man in the pit and died because of it. His only mistake was in underestimating what Gus would do. Gus slapped Jane on the shoulder and started to walk again towards the farmhouse. The rifle was still tightly in his grip and there was no way Jane could get to a vehicle and make an escape attempt. For now, he would have to continue his ruse by being Ben for a bit longer.

As the two men walked towards the house, Jane feared how Jillie would greet him once he got inside. Perhaps she was as deluded as her husband. Gus's grip on reality was tenuous, and as he had just admitted, he'd happily killed several men for not meeting his expectations. Would Jillie give it all away and expose Jane for the liar he was?

While Jane made his way across the broad expanse of the dusty yard, miles down the road Maggie was making her way to the Collins farm. She had seen Gus attack Mr. Jane yesterday on the corner and just couldn't understand how he could have done that to that nice man. If Poppa Gus hit people like that, would he hit her with a rifle too if she got him mad? She had never been afraid of him, ever. She loved him...and he loved her… how could he do such a bad thing to someone? She was so upset she hadn't even told Maisie what she had seen.

She tried to make sense of what Poppa Gus had done. Maybe that police guy Mr. Jane had said a bad thing to Poppa Gus and he deserved to be hit. Yes, maybe that's what happened! That meant that wasn't so nice after all! Yes, that must have been why Poppa Gus had to hit that man, that bad bad man! Maggie's mind turned everything that had happened lately over and over until she came up with a solution that made sense to her. As she got closer to the old farm, she felt better. Maybe Maisie was right, coming here today was a good idea after all!

(FBI Raid)

Cho and Lisbon had questioned the man of the house at the first farm while agents and sniffer dogs searched his property. The house yielded nothing, but once the dogs were set loose they zeroed in on a pile of dirt behind the garage. Digging furiously with his front paws, the dog had to be pulled away by his police canine control officer. The police continued to dig and two feet down, they found a metal box filled with drugs. They should have asked for the dogs last night.

The farmer was led away in handcuffs and Abbott, Cho and Lisbon got into their SUV to drive to the next farm. So far...so good.

(The Farm)

Jane felt sick. His arm had been badly jostled in the last half hour and he'd had nothing to eat since yesterday morning. He had no idea what Ben had liked to eat when he lived here, what he used to call his mother, he knew nothing of the family life Ben had lived here that he could use to secure his safe return to Lost Wells, before they finally figured out he was an imposter. His headache sat like a heavy weight on his brain and walking made him feel beset by the spins. The sooner he sat down the better.

"C'mere boy...come see your mother!" Gus said joyfully as he opened the old front door to the house.

"Mamma! Look who I found!" Gus shouted into the house. Jane got ready for everything to go to hell.

A tiny woman emerged from a room in the back of the house, her hair grey and falling out of a bun haphazardly pulled up on top of her head. She wore a loose cotton house dress and over that, a worn but tidy yellow apron with lace trim all around it. She'd made it herself. She squinted at Gus, then turned to gaze at their visitor. She took a few tentative steps towards the man and held out her hand.

"Hello, I'm Jillie Collins. And you are?" she asked innocently.

Gus turned to Jane expectantly, but whispered theatrically so Jillie couldn't hear, "she's blind as a bat without her bifocals. Go ahead, tell her who you are son."

Jane stepped forward and grasped the woman's hand, hating, absolutely hating, what he was about to do.

"Hello Mamma. It's me...Ben."

Jillie's breath caught in her throat. Her hearing wasn't what it used to be and almost everyone spoke loudly to help her out. What did this man just say? Did she hear him correctly?

Jillie peered at Jane, her glasses forgotten in her pocket while she tried to sort out what he was saying to her. She must be crazy...thinking this man said he was Ben! Jillie studied the man in front of her and saw the blond hair, the handsome face, what she could make out anyway, and the strong build. But then reality entered the picture. She then turned to her husband in dismay. The old fool.

"No...no..Gus...no. Ben's dead honey. He died in that car wreck Gus."

Gus couldn't contain himself, he was so overjoyed. "No sugar, you're wrong, it was a mistake! This is Ben! Tell her Ben! Tell your Mamma it's you!" he gushed. Jane felt nauseated at his fakery. Speaking louder now, he said it again.

"Mamma, believe me, it's Ben. I've come home. I missed you both so much!"

Jillie walked up to 'Ben' and stared at him in disbelief. How could this be? She had seen the destroyed car, she knew what the accident had done to Maggie. But she had not seen Ben's body. The coroner, Dr. Klaasen, had said the coffin had to be closed. Could this really be Ben, back from the grave? Before she could analyse this confusing situation any further, Gus interrupted her thoughts.

"Now Jillie, let Ben sit down. He's not feeling too well right now and we need to get some food into him, right son?" Gus said, guiding Jane to a chair.

Jane indeed did need to sit down, but that damned gun was still in Gus's hand, seemingly glued there. Until he forgot about it and put it away, there was no escaping this situation.

"Thanks. Anything you have would be great" Jane said, so grateful to sit on a soft chair and relax, finally. Now if he could just get to a phone.

"What would you like son? You're favourite?" Gus asked. Again, a loaded question.

"Uhhh...Surprise me! Anything would be good from this kitchen" Jane said diplomatically.

"OK then, one surprise coming right up!" Gus said, hustling a confused Jillie back into the kitchen. Jane immediately stood up and searched for a cell phone or landline. The room was cluttered with knick knacks, photos of Ben on every surface, magazines and knitting baskets and bags of yarn, but no sign of a phone. Dammit...it must be in the kitchen or the bedroom. Jane was about to go exploring when another wave of nausea hit him. Feeling faint he had to sit down quickly before he fell down. Must be a concussion. He desperately wanted to be left alone to rest, close his eyes, but it would have to wait. The longer he spent with Gus the bigger the chance would be that he would do or say something wrong, something that would set off alarms bells in Gus's addled brain that maybe Jane was an imposter after all.

Jillie bustled around the kitchen, not quite sure what was going on. Gus was humming a tune and poking around in drawers, distracted and apparently very happy. He went from cupboard to drawer and back again.

"Gus, for gosh sakes sit still! There isn't room in here for the both of us. Now get out while I get something made for...him" she said.

Saying 'Ben' didn't feel right. Not at all. But if she said 'that man" Gus would be upset, and she knew how he got when he was upset. He was getting more and more difficult every day. She would have to speak to the doctor about Gus one of these times. Gus took the hint and shuffled out of the small kitchen and back into the living room. There he found 'Ben' reclining on the sofa, his hand shielding his eyes. Gus stood over the man smiling with love. Ben was home again. God was merciful after all.

Jane was aware that he was being watched. If he lay still, perhaps Gus would think he was sleeping and leave him alone. Then maybe he could force down some food for strength and persuade the old couple to let him use the phone, to call a 'friend'. For now, that's all Jane had the strength to come up with. The longer he lay on the comfortable sofa, the heavier his eyes got. He really didn't dare to fall asleep, he needed to be in control from now on. Forcing himself to move from his comfortable position, he sat upright and gazed around the room.

"How's it look son? After all this time?" Gus asked, the gun looser in his hand now, while he looked around trying to see the room as if he'd also been gone for years and years.

Jane had no idea if it looked the same as it always did, or if it had been redecorated or rearranged. Another possible landmine to avoid.

"It looks like home is what it looks like. Looks good to me" Jane smiled.

Gus beamed with pleasure. This was a good answer. So far, Jane had said nothing that Gus could find fault with. Before he could talk any further with his long lost child, Jillie came around the corner with a tray holding plates of pie. A pitcher of cold sweet tea came next. She laid the spread out on the small coffee table and watched as their 'son' eagerly picked up a fork to sample the cherry pie.

"Mmmm...so good" he said, taking another big bite. Jillie smiled and poured him a tall glass of sweet tea.

"You always liked my pie Ben" she said, using the words that would appease Gus. She could figure out what was going on later.

"Nothing beats home baking, that's for sure" Jane said between mouthfuls of food and drink. He relished the sweet tartness of it and the sugary rush to his system.

"Sorry it's not apple, I know it's your favourite but it's all I had today" apologized Jillie.

""Oh don't worry, it's wonderful. Just great" Jane said, and it was true. This woman could bake a great pie. Gus and Jillie ate their pie while watching Jane eat as if they were entertaining royalty. Anything he wanted was Ok with Gus. Now, Jane would see if he could get what he really wanted.

"Would it be alright if I used your phone? Just for a minute. I'd like to call a friend of mine, let him know I'm here" Jane said.

Gus looked at 'Ben' with disappointment. He didn't want to share his son with anyone else, not yet.

"It's late, maybe you should wait until morning."

"I think he'll be up for a while yet. Mamma, could I use the phone?" Jane asked again.

Jillie couldn't resist hearing herself being called 'Mamma' by this handsome man. Ben's voice had changed since he got older, and he wore his hair much longer than he used to when he was younger, but other than that, he was Ben, for now.

"Oh why not, OK Gus? Let the boy call his friend. You remember where it is sweetie?" Jillie asked Jane.

Jane had no idea where it could be. He studied Jillie to see if her eyes went towards the kitchen or the bedrooms. Still nothing.

"Do you still have your old phone or did you break down and finally get a cell phone" Jane joked, hoping for just a tiny hint.

"A cell phone? Those things are a pain in the ass! Folks calling all times of the day and night. I got one and threw it away five years ago!" Gus said. "Right Jillie?"

"Oh yes, he did alright. He's much rather use the phone in there than carry one around in his pocket all day" she laughed, pointing towards the kitchen. Finally, now Jane stood up and walked towards the kitchen to call Lisbon.

Gus and Jillie stood up too and followed their 'son' into the kitchen. Jane needed some privacy, but these two old folks weren't going to let him out of their sight.

"Ah...there it is…" Jane said, spying the old push button phone on the wall. He quickly punched in Lisbon's number and prayed she picked up quickly. On the second ring, she did.

"Lisbon."

"Hello Dennis, it's me" Jane said.

Lisbon's heart flew up into her mouth in shock. She and Cho were on the road again having left farm #2 after an unsuccessful raid.

"Jane! Oh God! Where are you? Can you talk?" Lisbon asked. Abbott slowed down at the sound of Jane's name.

"Nice to hear your voice too Dennis. Yes, I'm OK, a little tired. Broke my arm, but that's another story. I'm at home with my parents."

"Parents? Jane, what the hell is going on?" Lisbon stammered as Cho stared at her. "Where are you?"

"You remember my parents don't you? Gus and Jillie Collins, out in the country, still on the farm?" he continued, hoping Gus didn't get wise to his coded message.

"You're out at the Collins place, got it. Are you in danger Jane?"

"Yes, very! Can't wait to see you again. Any time now would be great. OK, see you soon."

Jane hung up and smiled at his audience. "Old friend, you might not remember him. Guy named Dennis" he lied.

Gus had no idea who Dennis was, but if Ben had been away for years, of course he had new friends. So it was OK with Gus.

"Sweetie you look awful tired. Do you want to lie down awhile?" Jillie asked Jane.

"That would be nice, thanks. Don't mind if I do" Jane readily agreed. Now if Gus would just bugger off and leave him alone, he'd wait for Cho and Lisbon to arrive with the cavalry and he'd be on his way home to Austin, and Gus would be on his way to prison. Jillie led him back to the sofa and fluffed up the pillows. Indicating that he could lie there, she helped her 'son' recline into the well worn cushions. He settled his broken arm as best he could and let out a sigh of relief. He was almost safe.

"I'll just go make up a bed for you sweetie." Jillie suggested, needing time to think. She still wasn't sure what was going on. She had been the sensible one all these years, and in recent years, had to be the one to keep watch over her husband. But now these two men, both of them, insisted that this was her son Ben! What was she supposed to think now?

"I kept your room just the way you left it. I hope that's OK" Jillie said, bending down to place a kiss on Jane's forehead. This was so terrible, so cruel what he was doing to this sweet woman, but Jane could be dead in minutes once Gus figured out who he was. He had to keep up the charade.

"That was so nice of you. Thank you" he said, watching her totter off to get 'Ben's' room ready. Come on Lisbon, get me outta here!

Gus settled back in an old rocking chair and studied his 'son' as Jane made himself comfortable. Ben had certainly turned out to be a nice looking fella, thought Gus. A few extra scars and wrinkles adorned his face now, but that was to be expected after such a bad car accident, and a life far away from home. Soon Gus's eyes began to droop as did Jane's, much as he fought his fatigue. The gun grew slack in the old farmer's hand, leaning up against the chair base. Jane fought sleep but was exhausted from his injuries and the effects of spending the night in the damp chilly pit. Against his better judgement and flagging willpower, he fell asleep.

Lights lit up the long driveway leading the the Collins house, and the old red car made its way to the parking spot next to the front porch. Maggie stepped out and ran up to the house, much happier now that she had sorted out her feelings towards Poppa Gus. She knocked on the door, waited a moment and then walked in, just like always. She peeked into the living room from the front hall and saw Gus sitting with his chin drooping against his chest. Smiling at the sweet sight, she tiptoed over to the old man and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Gus roused himself in surprise and looked up into Maggie's smiling face. Gus felt like his night couldn't get any better. He smiled at Maggie and stood up to hug her.

"Hello darlin'! What brings you way out here?" he asked.

"Maisie said I could come and visit you and Mamma Jillie, so here I am" she said, not looking farther into the room.

"Well young missy, have I got a surprise for you!" Gus said. "Close your eyes...no peekin'… and turn around. When I say open'em, take a look at the best surprise ever!" he said with glee. He turned Maggie around and faced her towards the sofa.

"I, 2, 3...now open them big beautiful eyes sweetie!" he said.

Maggie opened her eyes and stared. There in front of her was Mr. Jane of the Austin FBI, dozing on Poppa Gus's sofa.

Gus watched her and expected a squeal of delight. Instead Maggie just stood there staring at 'Ben'.

'She must be shocked' Gus thought to himself.

"Well, whaddya think girlie? Betcha didn't expect to see Ben here tonight?" he said with undisguised joy. Jillie came into the room at the sound of all the commotion, just about the same time Jane woke up to the noise.

"Ben?" Maggie said, confused and not sure what was going on. "Poppa Gus, you're wrong. That isn't Ben!"

Jane sat up and gazed at Maggie in panic. She was going to get him killed! Before he could stop her, she continued explaining herself.

"Poppa Gus, I know this man. That's Mr. Jane. He's a policeman!" she said innocently.

Jane felt like he was going to throw up.


	14. The Lie Exposed

Thank you for all the reviews, much appreciated! I can never reply to you since you are a guest, but thank you missdonnie for your frequent comments

 **Return to Me**

Chapter 14

The Lie Exposed

Lisbon quickly told Cho and Abbott that Jane was alive, but in immediate danger. As Dennis gunned the engine and drove as fast as possible on these dirt roads, Lisbon checked her list of names. There on her short list of four farmers to re-check today was Gus Collins' name, the last farmer they had planned to visit. They would have ended up there eventually, but in all likelihood, possibly too late to save Jane. Lisbon punched the address for the Collins farm into the GPS and Dennis followed the directions to the hard to find property.

Lisbon got on the phone again and called Calderone.

"Agent Calderone, it's Agent Lisbon! Jane's alive and being held at the Collins place out of town!"

Calderone sat up straighter in his chair at this news.

"I'll get a chopper with some agents up in the air immediately. Is Jane hurt in any way?" he asked.

"He's got a broken arm, not sure how he is otherwise, but his call was very short and cryptic. Someone was listening and he couldn't say much, other than to indicate he's in grave danger. We have to get to Jane before he gets moved somewhere else!" Lisbon demanded.

"We're on it. I'll dispatch a Life Flight to the farm on standby as well to transport Mr. Jane to hospital. Hang in there Agent Lisbon, we'll have him back soon!" Calderone promised her.

Lisbon ended the call not nearly as optimistic as Calderone tried to sound. So much could change in an instant, and they were still miles and miles away from saving Jane.

(The Farm)

Gus was speechless. What was Maggie saying? That girl was not right in the head, everybody knew.

"Maggie, stop all that nonsense! This is Ben, your boyfriend! Back to stay with all of us girl!" Gus pleaded.

Jane stared hard at the woman, trying to somehow signal Maggie to be quiet, his fragile future in this girl's hands. Maggie had no idea that Jane's fate rested on what she said next. After all, she was not using magical thinking like her Poppa Gus was.

"But Poppa Gus, Ben's gone. This is Mr. Jane, he's a policeman from the FBI in Austin. He came to the motel with Agent Lisbon and Agent Cho and he's looking for missing people, aren't you Mr. Jane?" Maggie asked Jane. She was adamant. She knew she wasn't as smart as some people but she had seen this man come and go for days.

Jane's luck had run out.

Eyeing the gun Gus had rested against the chair, Jane gauged whether or not he could risk lunging for it. He was younger than Gus, but the old man was right there and powerful. Jane would only have one chance, but he was too far away to get to the rifle in time. As Maggie's words sank into his deluded brain, Gus turned his attention back to Jane and reached for his rifle, which he had carelessly let leave his fingertips when he sat in the chair so joyously not that long ago.

"Stand up boy!" Gus barked, his tone sour. Jillie stepped forward, seeing the sudden change in her husband. When he became like this, she was afraid. So far, as long as Gus stayed on the farm, she could keep his temper tantrums a secret.

"Gus, stop! What's going on now? Don't be mad at this man!" she begged, fearing Gus would get out of control.

Jane had wisely kept his mouth shut, not sure if speaking now would exacerbate the situation or calm it. Gus lifted his rifle and lay it across his forearm, his finger close to the trigger.

"Maggie here seems to think I've got you all wrong, that you ain't my boy Ben. She says you been staying at the Mercury. How's that possible?"

Jane stood with his one good arm raised in surrender above his head and tried to keep his voice as soothing as possible. What answer could he give that would appease both Maggie and Gus?

"Yes, Maggie's right. She did see me at the Mercury Motel, for a couple of days now. I stayed there and was planning to come out here soon, once I got settled, but you hit me with your rifle and dragged me out here like a common criminal before I could call and make arrangements to pay you a visit. You didn't give me a chance" he said, laying the blame for all of this at Gus's feet. "Instead you threw me into a pit, like an animal" he continued, trying to confound the old man.

"Gus? What does he mean? Did you attack this man?" Jillie asked in horror, her worst fears playing out in her living room.

"Stay out of it darlin'" Gus growled, raising his rifle towards Jane once again.

Jillie fumbled in the pocket of her apron and found her old glasses then looked, really looked for once, at Jane's dishevelled appearance, his broken arm and bloodied head and had the horrible realization that her husband had done something very very bad to this nice man, whoever he was.

"Gus, please say you didn't attack this man. Tell me you didn't kidnap him and hide him somewhere on this farm!" she shouted.

"Jillie, you'd best keep quiet now! This is between me and him" Gus mumbled back, his world suddenly spinning out of control. This had to be Ben, he knew all the answers to his questions, he even knew his mother loved music! But why was Maggie insisting his name was Mr. Jane, and that he was a cop?

Gus aimed his gun at Jane's chest. Time to get to the truth.

"I believed you were my boy...my son Ben."

"Yes Gus...I am" Jane said desperately.

"Don't call me Gus! Show some respect for your father!" the old man yelled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect sir" Jane quickly apologized, sweat forming on his forehead.

Maggie and Jillie were clinging to each other in distress. Maggie had no idea why Gus was so mad, and couldn't understand the game Mr. Jane was playing, pretending to be...what? A policeman, or Ben? Why did he have to play games?

Gus was thinking hard, reality and fantasy intertwined now to such an extent that he no longer trusted anyone, not even himself. There had to be one foolproof way to find out who this man really was. Yes...that was it...Gus seemed to arrive at a solution to the problem at hand, a test for this young man that would prove once and for all if in fact, Ben was standing in his living room, or if Maggie was right, and this was a policeman from Austin.

"I got a solution to this here problem. You say you're my boy Ben...so if you are...you'll know the answer to this question right quick. If you ain't my boy, you'll never know the answer."

Jane swallowed hard, his heart pounding and his head throbbing. He took a quick glance out of the front window in the faint hope that Lisbon and Cho were outside, ready to break the door down. No such luck.

His attention was jerked back to Gus, who was now circling around him with the rifle still pointed forward.

"When you were 14 years old, you wanted somethin' for your birthday, somethin' real special. You begged and begged for me to give you what you wanted. What did you want, and did you get it?" Gus asked Jane.

Maggie and Jillie turned to stare at Jane. Maggie didn't know the answer and Jillie couldn't remember the answer. It was all up to the man in the living room now.

Jane tried to read Gus's face, but his dementia and anger made it an impossible task. This truly was a one in a million guess.

"I'm waitin' son...you should know exactly what I'm talkin' about."

Jane's skin prickled with sweat and tension. What would a 14 year old farm boy want other that a Playboy magazine? A new bike? The newest video game? A skateboard? The possibilities were endless. As he tried to come up with an answer, the rifle got closer to his chest and Jane knew he had to guess, now.

"I don't remember what I wanted. And I don't remember if I got it. The accident screwed with my mind. I lost memories, forgot my friends, didn't know who I was anymore. That's why I had to go, I had to leave and figure out who I was after the crash" he lied, hoping Gus would buy into his explanation. Jillie cringed at his answer, knowing full well this man was not her son but was doing whatever it took to stay alive in the face of her husband's madness.

Gus was having none of it. This was a lie, straight up. Now that seeds of doubt had been sown, there was no convincing him anymore that he had found his long dead son.

"I'll tell you what my boy wanted. He wanted a rifle. He was dyin' to own one, just like mine. He whined and complained and carried on like a fool, but in the end, I let him have one. He loved it and got real good with it. There's no way Ben would have forgotten that, you lying sack of shit!."

Gus took a step forward, menacing Jane with his gun.

"You ain't my son!"

Jane should have known...should have considered Gus's macho Texan world...of course a young boy would want to emulate his father and own a rifle!

Gus got behind Jane and shoved the barrel of the rifle between his shoulder blades. What he wanted to do, he couldn't do in front of the ladies, otherwise this imposter would be dead already, just like them other fellas! Gus felt the bulge of the syringe in his pocket, the one filled with a deadly barbiturate that he had planned to use earlier if this man hadn't convinced him that he was Ben.

"Walk!"

Jane only had minutes to say something to these women that could help stop Gus, even if it meant that Jane would die.

"Tell them what you've been doing Gus...tell them how many men you've already killed in your search for Ben!"

"Shut up..walk!" Gus barked, not wanting his wife or sweet Maggie to know what he did, when the blackness hit him, when he became consumed with grief and anger and the need to find someone, anyone who looked like Ben.

Jillie stepped away from Maggie and put her hand on Gus's arm.

"What's he sayin' Gus? It can't be true...tell me you didn't kill anybody!"

Gus pulled his arm away from his wife's touch and growled back his answer.

"Get back, this is a man's job. You women don't need to know what I do when I'm gone." In a more tender tone, Gus added, "I'm doing this for you Jillie, to get Ben back home."

Jillie's hand flew up to her mouth in shock. He was killing people, for her?

The hard end of the barrel dug into Jane's back and shoved him forward. As Gus marched Jane towards the door he called out to Maggie.

"Thank you darlin'. You're the smartest person in this room!" The compliment from Poppa Gus didn't make Maggie feel as good as it usually did.

Jane shouted out more of his story to Jillie, needing her to remember, to tell Lisbon if he died.

"He killed a man named Sam Hunt, and Martin Valeriote, and a man named Robert Thomas. Tell them Gus, tell your wife how you've been hunting men and killing them right here on the farm. Tell her!"

Jane was rewarded with a smack across the back of his head, sending him hurtling against the door frame. Jillie cried out in horror while Maggie backed away from the commotion looking for a place to hide.

Gus ordered Jane out of the house and told him to walk to the truck and wait. Jane tried to pick himself up from the floor but wasn't fast enough for Gus. As he got to his knees, Jane's head was wrenched upwards as Gus grabbed him by his hair and began to drag him out of the front door. Jillie screamed at Gus to let the poor man go and pummelled his back to make him drop Jane. Swinging around, Gus pushed his wife off him, sending her falling back into the living room. The old woman lay in a heap, bruised and bewildered at her husband's descent into madness. Maggie gathered her up into her arms and held her tight, both of them now in tears.

As the women watched, Gus dragged Jane outside and across the dirt farmyard, shoving Jane against the pickup truck. Gus told him to stay still and wait. Even in his weakened condition, Jane wasn't going to just give up and let Gus take him without a fight. Jane did as he was told, but when Gus turned to reach for a piece of rope in the back of the truck, Jane stood up, spun around and punched the old man in the head, sending him spinning to the ground. This was his chance to make a run for safety.

Jillie saw her beloved husband fall to his knees as that other man turned to run. Maggie watched the scene unfold in disbelief, but some part of her wanted that man to run, find shelter and hide from Poppa Gus. By now, she was afraid of the old man too. A natural runner, Jane should have been able to get away as quickly as a jack rabbit, but to his horror he discovered that running with a concussion and broken arm was much more difficult than he had anticipated. His speedy escape was instead a lurching run, complicated by the spins once Jane moved faster than a slow walk. By the time he was 30 feet away he was badly off balance and stumbled to the ground, hitting the dirt hard on his injured arm.

The sound of a rifle cocking froze Jane in place as he cradled his wrist. Gus walked over to the prone man and leered at him over the barrel of his gun. He raised his foot and placed it heavily in the middle of Jane's back, pinning him down in the dirt. Now that his prisoner couldn't fight back, Gus bent down and tied Jane's arms behind his back, not caring that the man cried out in agony as his broken arm was yanked violently back.

"Get up!" he ordered, his gun aimed squarely at Jane's face. It took a while, but Jane finally managed to get to his knees, then his feet. Inside the house, the women were paralysed with fear. Gus marched Jane back to the pickup, then he opened the back gate of the truck and forced Jane to lie down in the dirty space. Once there, Gus put a blindfold around Jane's eyes, leaving him unable to see or work his way out of the truck bed. That accomplished, Gus stepped up into the truck and gunned the engine, taking off in a cloud of dust. He was mad as hell that his usual smooth operation had fallen apart so easily and he sure wasn't going to inject poison into this man's veins as his wife watched. He'd have to use the syringe once he found his dumping ground out in the desert.

Maggie and Jillie huddled in shocked silence for a moment as the enormity of the situation settled on them. Maggie realized that Poppa Gus was a very bad man. Jillie realized that the man she had loved since she was 16 years old was a kidnapper and a killer. She pulled herself away from Maggie and told her to sit on the sofa and keep calm, then Jillie walked with a heavy heart to the kitchen and picked up the phone to call the police. After she hung up, she knew her beautiful life was over.

Abbott, Cho and Lisbon tore down the pitted road, bouncing up and around the interior of the large SUV as it negotiated the washboard road. Lisbon had bitten the inside of her lip in anxiety until she tasted the coppery tang of blood. The GPS indicated they were only 15 miles away from the homestead but Abbott couldn't go any faster without losing control of the vehicle. Behind their vehicle more FBI agents and local police were screaming down the same country road to the Collins farm. High overhead, a chopper was looking for a place to land ahead of Abbott, and the medical team followed in their own helicopter.

Jane was in agony. He lay on his side and felt every bump and rut in the road, his head bouncing up and down against the metal floor of the pickup until he thought it would split open like a watermelon. He couldn't feel his arm anymore, and thought that might be a very bad sign of further damage. If only he could peel off his blindfold he could risk jumping out of the truck and hiding somewhere along the way. If Gus was unaware that Jane had escaped, it might be a long while before he realized his prize was gone. If...if... if.

He prayed that Jillie had come to her senses and called for help. Lisbon and Cho should have been there by now! Surely Gus was not so far ahead that they couldn't catch up and prevent another murder! The truck's front tire hit a large hole in the ground and sent a jolt through the body of the vehicle. As the truck banged over the hole, Jane's head flew up and slammed down against the floor, sending shock waves of pain throughout his bruised body.

Abbott drove up the laneway and jammed on his brakes, throwing up a shower of loose gravel and dust. Lisbon was out of the SUV instantly, her gun drawn as she ran across the yard towards the house as Cho and Dennis ran behind her. She reached the porch and paused until the men stood beside her. On her count, they burst through the door and yelled for everyone to get down!

Maggie almost fell off the sofa in terror and raised her hands up over her head like she'd seen people do on TV. Cho ran through the living room to the kitchen and found Jillie sitting on an old chair weeping. Lisbon and Abbott secured the house and ran back to Maggie.

"Where is he Maggie? Where's Mr. Jane?" Abbott shouted.

Maggie was speechless, too frightened and confused to know if this was a good person or a bad person. Everything she thought she understood was wrong...so maybe this man was bad too.

"In here!" Cho called from the kitchen.

"Stay here Maggie!" Lisbon told the woman sternly before running towards Cho's voice.

Cho was sitting beside Jillie, trying to connect with her, but she was far away, in another time and place.

"Mrs. Collins...please, we need to know where Gus is" Cho asked her again. "Where did he take Mr. Jane?"

Jillie raised her tear stained face to the kind man and cried silently. "Gone...they're gone…"

Lisbon grasped the old woman's hand and had to get through to her as quickly as possible.

"Mrs. Collins...Jillie...we want to find Gus and help him. He's needs help and we can do that for him. We also need to know where he took Mr. Jane. Can you at least tell us how they got away?"

Jillie turned to look at this pretty woman, and saw love and fear in her eyes, the same love and fear she was feeling for Gus right now. She understood how it felt to lose someone you loved. She looked towards the kitchen window and spoke as if in a trance.

"Gus went away in the pickup truck, with that man. He thought it was my Ben. He really thought Ben had come back from the grave...but you can't do that, can you?" she asked Lisbon, desperate for someone to understand what she was talking about.

"No Ma'am...you can't come back, no matter how much you want that to happen. Please, was Mr. Jane alive when he was taken away? Is he still alive Mrs. Collins?"

"Why yes, of course he's alive dear…"

"Can you guess where they went Mrs. Collins?" Lisbon asked.

Jillie shook her head, her ability to second guess her husband totally gone now. In his current mental state, he could be going just about anywhere.

"I'm sorry. I have no idea where he would go. Maybe to Laredo? Or...out into the desert? He has favourite places to go to when he gets upset...but he never told me where he goes…" she said with regret. The old woman now realized that her husband had been keeping secrets from her for a long time.

There was nothing more Lisbon could get out of Jillie Collins, and Maggie seemed to be too distraught and confused to be of any help, so it was up to the police and helicopter pilot to search the highways and backcountry roads to locate the runaway pickup.

The door to the old house slammed with a bang and more police and agents entered the house, Agent Calderone in the lead. A female officer stepped into the kitchen and was informed by Lisbon of the situation with Maggie and the sad state of Mrs. Collins. The agent would make sure both women were taken care of and removed from the farm for their own safety. Agents and police officers swarmed over the farm property and shouts of discovery were soon raised. The agents sprinted across the yard and found what had caused the alarm to be raised. Cho along with Lisbon, Abbott and Calderone stood beside the pit in the ground, their flashlights shining down into the hole where so many men had been held captive. A sniffer dog ran around the buildings oblivious of the humans and joyfully went about his task of finding drugs. He wanted his biscuit as a reward.

The dog ran back and forth in front of the bales of hay and suddenly stopped, wagging his tail furiously and barking for his master to come and reward him. Two officers stared at the innocent looking bale of hay, no different from any of the others, until they split it apart and pulled the hay open. In the middle of the bundle was a baggie of narcotics and another syringe. Gus was planning on using more of the drug until he finally found his son.


	15. What The Camera Saw

Another chapter was ready to go, so why wait? Enjoy!

Return to Me

Chapter 15

What The Camera Saw

Gus Collins drove like the devil himself rode his bumper. He was no longer in his right mind, his ability to tamp down his murderous urges totally gone with this latest betrayal. Ben, his beautiful boy Ben, had come back, if only for a short while and for those few sweet moments, Gus felt like he could breath again after years of drowning slowly. Then sweet befuddled Maggie had shown him what a liar this Mr. Jane really was. If Jillie had not been in the room, Gus would have killed the imposter where he stood. Then he would have wrapped his body up in an old rug just like he'd done with that other fella, the guy who also pretended to be Ben. Apparently leaving his dead body outside of town wasn't warning enough for Mr. Jane.

Once Gus was away from the farthest outreaches of his large property, the land opened up into a vast desert populated with low growing brush, hardy trees with tiny, drought resistant leaves, cacti and tumbleweeds. Considering it was a desert, the land was quite green but in a tough, hardy way. Valleys pockmarked the landscape alongside tall cliffs of limestone. The sandy soil between the scrubby brush was littered with fallen rocks from the unstable cliffs, the victims of torrential, but infrequent rain. Hikers loved this part of Texas, as it presented a challenge to navigate but gave maximum rewards in the way of harsh beauty. Gus had grown up walking these flats and valleys. He knew every dry riverbed, every mesa, every nook and cranny and because of that, he knew where to hide the bodies of his enemies.

It would take a miracle for the police to find him before he finished his work with the traitorous man in the back of his pickup. By the time anybody figured out where he was, Mr. Jane would be dead and rotting next to the others already decomposing in the dry river bed. High overhead, miles away in the wrong direction, an FBI chopper ploughed through the sky searching for the telltale signs of an old pickup truck driving through the dusty desert. Without help, they just might lose another agent.

Cho, Abbott and Lisbon drove straight ahead towards the desert, blindly trying to figure out where the old man would go. At every twist and turn in the landscape, they knew they could be choosing the wrong path and would forever regret their decision.

(The Farm)

Back at the farm, the policewoman convinced Jillie to lie down and try to rest, while Maggie wandered the house, trying to make sense of everything she had witnessed over the last few days. This house had always been a safe haven, a place to go to when she felt the world was too much for her to understand. Poppa Gus had put photos of Ben on almost every surface after he was 'gone', much to Mamma Jillie's protests, but Poppa Gus always got his way. Now Maggie studied each photo with care, seeing Ben grow up from photo to photo. Some of the pictures were of Ben and Maggie together, going to Senior Prom in their finest clothes, looking thrilled and bashful at the same time. Another photo showed them here on the farm, sitting on a hay bale eating ice cream cones. Maggie looked at herself in these photos almost as if the girl in the photo was someone she sort of knew, almost remembered, but always believed was no one she ever really once was. The policewoman left Maggie alone since she was calm and needed no help at the moment. Soon enough both ladies would be taken back to town to be questioned and housed somewhere safe for the night.

(The Desert)

Far away, far beyond the reach of cell phone towers and gas station telephones, 3 hikers were traversing the desert in the hot sun, tired and ready for a break from their walk. They had started off mid-morning from a base camp with friends, and expected to reconnect with them later in the day to compare photos and stories. For now, they just wanted to find a shady spot to sit down, drop their heavy packs and have a long cool drink. Up ahead a craggy rock outcropping loomed and cast a deep shadow across the sandy soil. That's where they would stop for a while. Five minutes later they had arrived and basked in the relative coolness of the shadow, where it was a good 10 degrees cooler than the path they had been following. Water bottles and granola bars were produced and the three young people lay back to take a much needed rest. The silence here was total, save for the screeching of hawks hunting for mice and other prey. When she was feeling cooler and rested, one of the hikers stood up and wandered around the large boulder they were sheltering under, and climbed up the other side to gaze out across the desert in front of them.

In front of them was a Mesa, a hill that was wider than it was tall, with a very flat top, like a tabletop. Consulting her map, the young woman, Molly, determined she was looking at Red Mesa, one of the few notable landmarks so far out in the desert. Beside the Mesa was what appeared to be a dry river bed carved deep into the earth by eons of flash floods. When she scrambled down from her perch, she encouraged her friends to hike over there to take some impressive photos from the top of the Mesa. It was a bit of a jog, but they could easily get there soon if they didn't waste any time.

Crisscrossing the sky above, the police chopper droned onwards, following a grid above the land searching for likely vehicles. Gus's truck was ancient, so there was no possibility of tracking it with a GPS. From up here, every old pickup truck looked like it could be his, so the pilot had to swoop down and hover above the startled driver and check the license plates and make of the truck to ensure Gus was not driving away from them. Unfortunately, out here, old pickups were as common as cacti, so the job progressed slowly and unsuccessfully. Police units were out scouring the countryside from all directions trying to converge at one central location after all roads had been examined. More than one surprised driver had been pulled over to check his box for a hidden captive. This all took valuable time and every minute wasted meant Jane came closer to being injected with a deadly barbiturate. Even if they found him soon, once that drug flowed through his veins they wouldn't get him to a hospital in time.

Without a miracle, it was looking hopeless.

The hikers packed up their gear and began walking towards Red Mesa. Molly had convinced them that it was most likely going to be the most interesting thing they'd see all day, so off they went. It took a good 10 minute slog through rough desert, but they were soon rewarded with a beautiful location for photos. The Mesa didn't disappoint. The soil was variegated and had layers of white, tan and red soil mixed with crumbled hardened rock from the hill. They found a rough set of handholds cut out of the monolith by previous hikers, so they made their way quickly up to the flat top of the hill. From here they could see for miles. The earth changed dramatically at this height, and became even more beautiful. Wind and rain had carved the sides of the Mesal away until all that was left was a footstool shaped hill, with walls that undulated in and out like corrugated cardboard. Sitting atop the mesa was a flat green expanse. Molly, her boyfriend Chris and friend Mark crisscrossed the Mesa taking photos of objects both far away and near. Below them on one side lay the old riverbed, now completely dry and dusty, but every time a storm raged through the desert, a flash flood would fill the ravine with a racing torrent pushing its way towards Laredo. The young woman leaned out over the edge of the Mesa and snapped photos of the riverbed below, eager to see how the pictures turned out once she descended and put them on her laptop.

As the sun got lower in the afternoon sky, the three hikers made the decision to head back to their camp and compare notes with their friends. They had no idea what their cameras had captured.

(Gus)

The miles disappeared under the pickup's tires, and Jane bounced around the bed of the truck bleeding from a fresh gash in his scalp. He was groggy from the constant assaults on his skull, his brain processing data slowly in order to heal and rest. He was awake but hardly aware.

(The Farm)

Jillie had taken a Tylenol for a headache and had drifted off into a restless sleep. Maggie decided to warm up to the policewoman and now they both sat at the kitchen table eating ice cream and looking at an old photo album that Gus and Jillie had compiled. Maggie turned the pages slowly, commenting to the policewoman whenever a photo meant something to her. She had a lifetime of memories stored somewhere in her damaged brain and every now and then, a photo nudged her to pull up a memory thought to be gone forever. As the pages turned, so did the decades.

Maggie delighted in seeing Gus and Jillie as young people, newly married and full of optimism about the future. Then, a page later, Jillie was holding a tiny bundle all in blue with 'Ben' hand printed under the photo. The next few pages were all about Ben: his first tooth, his first steps, his first wagon ride...a multitude of common but priceless stepping stones towards maturity. Then by the time Ben was in high school, pictures of Maggie had been added to the album. Once again she stared at pictures of herself as if looking at an impersonator. She laughed at the haircuts and clothes she sported, and roared with laughter at Ben as his hair was at one time buzzed off, military style, then long and shaggy like a hippie, then shorter and curly, like Mr. Jane's. Maggie abruptly stopped laughing.

Mr. Jane. At the thought of him Maggie felt queasy. That's why this police woman was sitting here after all, because of what had happened to . Poppa Gus had taken Mr. Jane away at gunpoint. How could Maggie be laughing at old photos when Gus had been so mean, so scary? What was Gus going to do to that nice man? It was impossible for Maggie to consider that he would hurt that man, no matter what Mr. Jane had shouted at Jillie before he was forced out of the room at gunpoint. Life was not a TV show, that's what Maisie always told Maggie, so of course Gus wouldn't really shoot anyone. That would be crazy! But for a moment, Maggie had to consider the possibility that maybe Gus could shoot someone.

Did he maybe do that already?

(The Desert)

Abbott realized the futility of driving blind into an enormous desert and got on the phone with Calderone before they ran into a dead zone where there was no cell service.

"Dennis, what can I do for you?" Calderone asked quickly as he was out searching as well.

"There's no way we can find Jane like this, not without an idea where Collins is going. Can we get more choppers up in the air, cover more ground?"

Abbott waited while Calderone thought. "We have one up already, and a Rescue chopper waiting to take Jane to the hospital. I'll tell them to sweep the other quadrants in our grid search and I'll call another chopper in, that'll give us three birds in the air. That should help find the bastard!"

"Thanks, thanks very much" Abbott said in relief. "We're on our way into desert and will call in if anything shows up. Talk to you soon."

Abbott gripped the wheel a bit tighter and turned to reassure his people that they'd find Jane. Cho and Lisbon nodded their agreement, but judging from the silence in the SUV, no one was very confident they would find him in time.

(The Hikers)

The hikers were on their way back to the camp they had set up with their friends and couldn't wait to see what their cameras would reveal when they blew up the shots. Halfway there, they slowed down to rest and sat in the shade of a tired old tree for a drink of water.

"So lemme see what you got on your camera when you were up on that Mesa" Chris asked his girlfriend.

"It can wait til we download the photos onto my laptop" Molly said, not interested in squinting at the tiny pictures on her camera when she could take her time studying them on a much larger screen tonight.

"Oh come on stingy...show me what you got. I bet you $10 bucks it was nothing but sand sand and more sand...and a cactus plant thrown in here and there" he teased.

Molly was sure she got fantastic shots and couldn't stand his smug attitude. She'd show Chris some great photography!

"Fine. Let's see if your shots are as good as mine smarty pants" she smiled, pulling her camera out of its case.

The three people sat close together and peered at the images Molly had captured from her wonderful vantage point on top of the Mesa. Image after image emerged of vast expanses of desert, sand and sand for sure, then she scrolled through the photos showing the land closer to the base of the Mesa, the piles of rock, cacti, the dry river bed, a vulture sitting on a pile of rocks preening it's feathers. She clicked through the pictures then stopped, and went back a few frames.

"What...what did you notice?" her boyfriend asked, seeing the look of concern on her face.

"Mmmm...it's probably nothing...but I got a vulture in one of those pictures" Molly said, concentrating on finding the exact photo she was searching for.

"So, what about a vulture?" Mark asked, not seeing an ugly bird being worth a second glance.

"Vultures eat carrion. I didn't notice a dead animal in its mouth. Why was he sitting in the ravine for so long?" she asked.

"He was tired?" Chris teased.

"Shut up Einstein" Molly barked, finding the photo she needed. "Here it is...what's he doing down there?"

All three hikers leaned over the camera and tried to make out what was hidden in the shot. The woman ran her finger over the button to enlarge the details in the picture and focussed on the large bird, then gradually scrolled over the frame to pick out other details. Nope, no mouse, no snake, no dead anything…

Wait…What was that...

What the hell..

"Oh my God!" she screamed, letting the camera slip through her fingers.

Chris grabbed the camera and stared at the photo. He enlarged it a bit more and froze in shock.

"God Almighty" he whispered, shoving the camera away from himself towards the other man.

Now Mark looked at what the camera had captured and went pale. The enlarged frame showed the vulture sitting on the skeletal remains of a dead human, then another skeleton showed up, and another, whose clothes still remained on the body. And that was just what was in that one photo.

"Oh geez" whispered Molly, frozen in fear. "Just what the hell is down there?"

"I'm not sticking around to find out, let's go and call the cops as soon as we get some cell phone service" her boyfriend said, standing up and pulling the woman up as well. The three hikers quickly put away their canteens and walked with renewed vigour, spurred on by sheer terror after seeing what they'd seen. As soon as they got cell service or ran into another person, they'd reveal what they'd discovered at Red Mesa.

(The Farm)

Maggie closed the photo album and shoved it away from herself and stood up, agitated and unsure of the people populating her life. If Gus couldn't be trusted, she had to re-think all of her friendships. This police woman wasn't her friend, not really. She was just here because it was her job. Mamma Jillie had never changed, not ever. She could be trusted. Maggie instinctively moved over towards the sofa where Jillie was resting and sat on the arm of the sofa, sighing in concern for Mr. Jane. He needed help and she couldn't do that for him. A ringing phone dragged her thoughts away from all this confusion. Before she could get to the phone the police woman answered it, then spoke softly to the person on the other end. After a lengthy conversation, she handed the phone to Maggie.

"Hello?"

"Hi Maggie. How are you doing sweetie?" Maisie asked, alarmed by the news the police officer had just told her about the situation at the farm.

"I'm OK. Maisie, Poppa Gus took Mr. Jane the other day! I saw it happen and I was afraid to tell you and Agent Lisbon and now Poppa Gus has taken Mr. Jane away again. I think he might kill him Maisie!"

"Maggie, don't be afraid, the police will find him and bring Mr. Jane back to Lost Wells. And you stay there where it's safe, OK sweetie?" Maisie answered, not knowing what else to say in the face of this terrible news.

"I want to come home Maisie" Maggie cried, her emotions finally finding release at the sound of her sister's voice. "Please come and get me!"

"It'll be OK Mags, just wait and see. We'll be together real soon OK sweetie?" Maisie pleaded with her. She had no other car, couldn't get to the farm and wasn't sure the police would just let her take Maggie away anyway.

"You be a good girl and I'll be with you as soon as possible Maggie. Be brave for me."

Maggie sniffed into the phone and nodded her head. "OK Maisie, I'll be good. See you soon. I love you Maisie."

"Love you too Maggie."

Maggie handed the phone back to the officer and leaned against her shoulder, crying out of fear and disillusionment. Poppa Gus was a bad guy after all. Her world was going up in flames. If only she knew where Gus would go when he was so mad!


	16. Dead is Dead

Well the weekend is upon us soon so here's a chapter to hold you until Monday. All my friends and family in Austin Texas, stay safe during the hurricane!

Return to Me

Chapter 16

Dead is Dead

Hiking was a slow process even under the best conditions, but out in the desert, the heat, loose sand, snakes and dehydration all conspired to slow you down or kill you if you got lost. Now that the three hikers had discovered Gus's dumping ground for the many men he had killed in deluded retribution for not being his son, they needed to move as quickly as possible and notify the authorities about the bodies. Each hour, each day, the bodies were picked clean by vultures and bugs, making identifying them more and more difficult.

In the distance a truck rumbled across the hard land, driving too fast on the soft earth. Gus knew he could get to Red Mesa within another 15 minutes if nothing slowed him down. Craning his neck, he looked out of his small back window and was pleased to see his prisoner still lying unmoving in the back. Smiling with a sense of accomplishment, he barrelled through the sand and patted his pocket to make sure the syringe was still there.

Jane was starting move around as the truck battered his bones. His head and neck were aching from being banged around for so long on the hard metal truck bed. His hands were behind his back, tied up with an old rope. As he became more aware how little time he had left, he hurried to set himself free. Shuffling up against the side wall of the box, he tried to sit up as much as possible. He got mostly onto his bum and then started to work his hands down his backside and under his thighs. The strain on his broken wrist was excruciating, but the alternative was far worse, so Jane clenched his teeth and continued to work his hands down his legs. Curling up into a tight ball he made himself as small as possible to slide his hands down his legs and up and over to the front. This took ages as the truck swayed and bounced constantly, throwing Jane off balance so often he kept tipping over onto his side time after time. With no other options available, Jane righted himself and started the whole excruciating process again, until his tied hands were now in his lap. First he reached up and grabbed the blindfold off his eyes, the harsh sunlight stinging them until they adjusted. Then he began to work at his ropes. They were oily and old, but Gus knew how to tie a strong and difficult knot. Jane didn't know how much further they would drive, so he desperately wanted to have his hands free to protect himself. His left arm was useless, so any self defence would come from his right hand. As he worked at his bonds, Gus was staring at a group of hikers standing straight ahead of him in the distance, frantically waving their hands to get his attention.

He wasn't going to slow down for anyone.

Molly, Chris and Mark saw the old pickup advancing at an alarming speed and stepped out into its path, trying to flag down the driver. He had to have seen them, they were the only people within miles and miles of here! They were only things not beige and sandy! Chris walked ahead of his friends and waved a red handkerchief in the air signalling Gus to stop. Maybe this driver would give them a ride to the police so they could report their discovery. Gus saw what the small group wanted and started to turn the steering wheel to drive around them. As he did, his wheels hit loose gravel sending the truck sliding erratically back and forth, dangerously close to tipping over if he didn't regain control soon. The hikers ran out of the way and yelled at the crazy old man to stop and help them, all the while hoping he didn't actually hit them.

"Stop! Stop! We need help!" Chris and Mark screamed while Molly backed away, frightened by Gus's odd behaviour behind the wheel. Then she spotted Jane, clinging to the side of the truck for fear of being thrown out at speed or being crushed if the truck rolled over. Why was a man in the back of the pickup way out here? As this question distracted her, the truck regained its balance and shot forward, narrowly missing the little group of hikers but leaving them shaken and disturbed by what they'd seen. Jane raised his tied hands to signal to them that he needed help, but was aware that this group could do nothing now.

"Oh my God what the hell was that all about?" Chris yelled, angry at how the driver seemed to be crazy enough to hit them.

"Chris we gotta get to a place where our phones work! We have to report that man and what we saw at Red Mesa!" Molly told him. "And that man in the back of the truck...did you see? His was tied up!"

"Just a bit farther and with luck we'll find ground high enough to catch a signal" Mark told them. The three began running and keeping a lookout for any hill that was high enough to climb and try for cellular service.

(The Farm)

Maggie sat with Jillie, who had awakened and had her arms around Maggie for comfort. Her husband was sick, but now it had been revealed, he was also dangerous. She couldn't undo what he'd done to Mr. Jane, and those other men, if what Jane had said was true, but she could maybe help to locate Gus before he killed again. Patting Maggie's hand, she tried to pull information out of the woman that might be useful. It took every bit of strength the old woman had in her not to fall apart completely at the sad turn of events in her life.

"Maggie honey, remember all the good times we've had here on the farm, back when Ben was still here?"

Maggie nodded her head, happy to think back to those times, many of which had largely faded from her memory. She did remember enough from her previous life to know that the Collins family and her time here with them were some of her best memories of all.

"Maggie darlin', do you know what happened to Ben?" Jillie asked her gently. "Now I know Gus told you Ben had to go away, and your sister tells you the same, but what do you know about it girl?"

Maggie twisted her hands in nervousness. She didn't like it when the subject of Ben's absence was brought up, and so, no one did anymore. But she knew, just felt, that they weren't telling her the whole truth.

"Ben's gone, I know that. He's been gone for so long, sometimes I kinda forget what he looked like, until I come here and look at his pictures, then I remember him."

"That's understandable dear" Jillie said. "But why is Ben gone?"

"The accident. Maisie told me it was really really bad, and I got hurt real bad too. That after the accident, I had to be in the hospital a long time before they'd let me come home again to Lost Wells. Ben was in the car when it crashed, everybody told me that."

"Do you remember the car and the accident sweetie?" Jillie was hoping to force Maggie to face memories that she had abandoned years ago. Sure, her brain damage had erased huge swaths of her past life, but had they all treated her with kid gloves for so long that she made no attempt to dig down for the memories that might still be in there somewhere?

Maggie stared out of the front window, trying to separate what she had been told from what she could remember. It had all been so long ago. Ben was her friend, all through school, she knew that from stories Maisie told her and from the photos Gus and Jillie always showed her. And she did remember Ben always being close to her, being kind to her and holding her in a way that she thought was so nice. She remembered being at home at the motel when Ben came in a pretty blue car with no roof. He said he'd take her out for an ice cream and drive around. She knew this story off by heart...but was it her memory or a story everyone told her?

"Ben was so nice to me. I liked him a lot...and he drove me around in his pretty blue car. Do you remember that car Mamma Jillie?" Maggie asked her, not noticing the tears in Jillie's eyes.

"Yes I do honey. That was a real pretty car. Go on now, tell me what happened. Tell me where Ben is now."

Maggie thought hard about that night, so long ago. She remembered sitting in the car and then it seems, they suddenly had ice cream cones in their hands. Time leapt forward oddly like that in her memories sometimes.

"We got our ice cream cones, with chocolate on top" she smiled. "We got near the motel and Ben told me something...I can't remember what it was but we both laughed and laughed...and then…" Maggie's eyes grew wide with a new memory. It unfolded like the petals on a flower opening to the sun.

"Then a dog ran in front of the car! A big one with a rope hanging off his neck like he had just busted free from his yard! And Ben...he didn't want to hit it so he swerved the car...like this" Maggie motioned with her hands, pretending to crank the steering wheel around suddenly.

"Can you tell me what happened next sweetie?" Jillie asked, crying now because she finally knew why the accident happened, all those years ago.

"We rolled over and over and over til I thought I'd die!" Maggie said with a sudden realization of how her life had changed. "But I didn't die..I didn't die Jillie...not me."

"No honey, you didn't...thank God" Jillie said softly.

Maggie looked at the old woman and knew, finally knew, what no one ever had said in so many words in case she didn't understand.

"Ben died...not me, Ben. Mamma Jillie, Ben didn't go away like Poppa Gus always tells me, did he? Ben died in the car didn't he?"

"Yes darlin' he did. Ben's been dead all these years, but Poppa Gus lately...well lately he got to thinking that maybe Ben would come home again. Sugar, you know that isn't possible don't you?"

Maggie might be brain damaged and simple in many ways, but she knew dead meant you didn't ever come back. Why had no one ever let her talk about this before?

"I know you don't come back to life. That's why angels take you to heaven when you die. That's what Reverend Preston always says anyway" Maggie confirmed, seeing the sense of it all. If Ben had been alive, he would have come home years ago, or even just called his Mamma and Poppa on the phone.

"Are you sad Maggie, now that you know Ben is dead and not coming back?" Jillie asked her gently.

Maggie smiled at her beloved Mamma Jillie.

"No silly! Now I know Ben has been in heaven all this time playing with the angels. I'm not sad at all!"

Jillie reached over and hugged the woman she considered a daughter and cried tears of relief that they could finally talk about Ben truthfully.

The policewoman had watched the scene play out and was almost moved to tears herself.

"Now Maggie darlin', do you think you could work that wonderful memory of yours a bit harder and try to think back to where Poppa Gus goes sometimes when he takes you out into the desert on adventures? You know how he'd take some sandwiches and drinks and you two would be gone for hours exploring the mesa's and plants way out back?"

The policewoman sat up straighter and listened carefully, understanding why Jillie had drawn Maggie into this conversation. She was trying to help find her runaway husband before he killed again.

Maggie had to think hard, because she and Poppa Gus went so many interesting places. Sometimes he took her fishing, sometimes they looked for animals beyond the fence line, sometimes they drove for hours looking at the desert and all the secrets it had waiting for them. That's what Poppa Gus called the desert...his secret place. He especially like that place with the odd little mountain plunked right there in the middle of nowhere...his favourite place...

Is that where he went today? Turning to Jillie, she knew it could be what Jillie wanted to hear.

"Mamma, I know a place Poppa Gus might go."

"Where honey? Tell me right now!" Jillie told her.

"Poppa Gus goes out into the desert sometimes. A couple of times he took me and showed me a place far away, where a river disappears for years, but then comes back when it rains. He said it was like magic and that you could also make things disappear out there!"

Jillie nodded. She knew the spot. "It's at the base of Red Mesa. Come rainy season the whole valley turns into a raging river. Gus loves it out there…" the tired woman said, remembering it as if it was a wonderful place.

Turning to the policewoman, she said the words that Cho and Lisbon had been waiting for.

"Tell your officers to go to Red Mesa, straight north of here. I think that's where Gus is taking ."

The policewoman stood up and dialed Calderone on her cell phone, telling him where to send the choppers and police on the ground.

(The Desert)

The shrill ring of his cell phone made Abbott jump as he concentrated on driving in this vast desert. Handing Cho his phone, he let him take the call. Judging from Cho's reaction, Lisbon knew it was the break they had been hoping for.

"Head for Red Mesa, straight ahead north. A chopper's in the air nearby and will meet us in the next 5 minutes. We'll fly there to save time. Collins is heading there with Jane."

"Oh thank God" Lisbon whispered, clutching her cross and saying a prayer that they got there in time.

The helicopter pilot had changed direction, along with all of the other searchers both in the air and on the ground. Their plan was to converge on the ground around Red Mesa and stop Gus before he could kill again.

Abbott kept his eyes on the path before him and soon saw the chopper overhead, looking for a safe place to land. In no time, Abbott, Cho and Lisbon had parked and ran from their car to board the chopper, rushing to finish the journey to save Jane.

"We're looking for Gus Collins in his pickup truck, with held as a prisoner, most likely in the box of the truck. We were told Mr. Jane is bound and blindfolded. Approach with caution. Collins is most likely heading for a ravine at the base of Red Mesa" Cho told the men on the chopper.

They would be there in no time, but whether they got there before Gus Collins, was anyone's guess.

(Gus)

Jane's heart sank when he saw the three hikers rapidly fade in the distance. He hoped they understood that he was not joyriding in the back of the truck but was there against his will. There was no way he could jump out of the truck at this speed, as the fall would most certainly injure him severely, if not kill him outright. He still needed to untie his ropes but with the use of only one hand and his teeth, and the upside down angle that he was working at, it was taking too long. Gus looked back at Jane and saw that he had torn off his blindfold and was working to free himself. His anger ratcheted up another notch, and he cursed as he drove like a madman towards Red Mesa.

There! He saw it! The Mesa was within sight and soon this imposter would be dead at the bottom of the dry river bed. Any other thoughts in the mind of the deranged old man disappeared as he focussed on his goal. Ben was still out there somewhere, ready to be brought home, and he would keep looking for him long after Mr. Jane was a bleached pile of bones. Far overhead, many miles away, two helicopters darted through the cloudless sky in a race to land at Red Mesa before Gus arrived. Cho leaned out of the chopper looking through binoculars to see if the truck was below them. So far, no sign of it was given away by puffs of dust blowing in the hot wind.

Nearer and nearer, Gus grinned at the sight of his destination as it filled his front window.

"Hang on you bastard!" he yelled back at Jane, who couldn't hear him above the blood rushing through his ears as he worked at the ropes around his wrists. There...almost..almost got it…

As the truck began to slow down, Jane got the last knot untied and readied himself to jump out and run, as soon as he could safely attempt it. Gus was busy looking for the spot where he always parked his truck and forgot to check Jane for a moment. As the truck swung around a pile of rocks and slowed down, Jane took his chance and leapt off the side of the truck and rolled on the ground, screaming in pain as his bruised body and broken arm hit the hard parched earth. Gus proceeded another hundred feet before he looked behind into the box to discover it empty.

"Shit!" he yelled, slamming on the brakes and turning off the engine. He got out with his rifle and ran back to where he had just been, looking for his prisoner. Jane had run away from the truck and to the left, to a large outcropping of rocks and low growing shrubs. If Gus went the other way searching for him, Jane planned to try to run to the truck and leave Gus stranded. But if Gus turned around and saw Jane run for the truck, a bullet would drop him before he got close enough to open the cab door. No, that wouldn't work...Jane realized he would have to go the long way around to the truck. He could gradually make his way all around the base of the Mesa and maybe get into the truck before being seen. That was a big maybe...the Mesa was very wide, a tiny mountain actually, and would take some work to get around without being seen, but that was his only option. As Gus ran the other way, slowly due to age and infirmity, Jane picked himself up from behind the rock that hid him and darted away, starting his circumnavigation of the Mesa. It was only a matter of time before Gus figured out what he was doing, but Jane had youth and strong legs on his side, and Gus had old age but a rifle on his side. Jane scrambled as quickly as he could, his feet sliding in the loose dirt, his arm banging at his side as he tried not to cry out in pain. Gus saw the large pile of rocks and knew it was the perfect hiding spot. He called out for Jane to come out with his hands up.

No one came out. Gus approached with caution and stepped behind the rock, his gun high and pointed at the man he thought would be crouching down behind the boulder. No one was there!

"Shit!"

Where the hell did that jackrabbit go so fast?


	17. Chasing Shadows

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that everyone in the storm in Texas is safe and well. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, glad you find it so thrilling!

Return to Me

Chapter 17

Chasing Shadows

Jane crept along the wall of the Mesa, every step feeling like it could be his last knowing Gus was most likely following him by now. Gus didn't have to catch up to Jane, he only had to have him in his rifle sights to bring him down with a bullet in the back. With no other options left, Jane moved ahead as quickly as he could, the loose sand and crumbling rock underfoot slowing him down considerably. Hugging the irregular wall for support, he stuck to the shadows as much as possible, his breath becoming ragged from panic more than exertion. Those hikers might have made contact with someone by now, with luck, and their report would alert the local police. A quick glance into the sky for signs of a helicopter gave Jane no solace. The sky was empty. Licking his dry lips, he kept going forward, determined to outlast the deranged old man for as long as possible, until the Feds arrived, or until his luck ran out.

Gus stepped away from the boulder and ran back to look at his truck...no Jane. So he had to have gone the long way around, encircling the base of the Mesa. Laughing now, Gus knew he had him. Jane might be ahead of him but once Gus got going, he'd let his rifle do all the work for him. He was disappointed that he might not get to finish the man off with an overdose of barbiturates, but now he just wanted to end this and get home to explain to Jillie and Maggie why all of this was necessary. He'd make them understand!

Turning to follow in Jane's footsteps, Gus started his walk around the Mesa, his quarry ahead of him and injured. It was like hunting a wounded dog. A sudden noise far ahead alerted Gus to Jane's location. He couldn't see him but he knew where he was.

Jane had stumbled on a loose rock and fell heavily, sending a shower of gravel and rocks tumbling down into the ravine beside the Mesa. The noise was too loud, too close in this still desert for Gus to have missed it. Jane scrambled back onto his feet and walked faster, unbuttoning his shirt down to his navel. Tucking his shirt front into his pants, he started to gather fist sized rocks as he came across them and stuffed them into his open shirt. He had no gun, but if need be he planned to start hurling rocks at Gus to slow him down, maybe stun him. His cotton shirt was soon bulging with rocks, but it slowed Jane down somewhat. No matter, he now felt he had a fighting chance to ambush Gus given the right circumstances. Ahead the Mesa took a slight turn to the right and Jane hustled as quickly as he could to reach that spot. Behind him, Gus stumbled and had a hard time catching up to his prey. His old legs were not up to the task of running on loose sand and he was feeling the effects of the chase and age. He stopped for a moment and wiped his brow then resumed his trek, his gun at his side, ready to be used should Jane suddenly appear.

(FBI Helicopter)

Cho and Lisbon never took their eyes off the windows, scanning the ground below for any sign of human life. The pilot spoke on the intercom system into the headphones of the FBI agents on board.

"Red Mesa, straight ahead. Prepare to land."

Abbott craned his neck to see over the pilot's shoulder, and sure enough, rising out of the ground stood a flat topped monolith, with a deep gouge running beside it, the ravine.

"Can you see Gus down there?" Lisbon asked, not seeing anyone just yet.

"Nope, just sand and cacti...give it time Lisbon...we're almost there" Abbott said to keep her calm. Lisbon was remarkably calm, but on edge, ready to leap out of the chopper and run after the crazy old man.

"I see his truck!" Cho shouted. "Over there, in a hollow by those rocks." All eyes on the chopper found the spot Cho pointed to. "That's where he took Jane."

The chopper started the descent, the noise of the blades growing louder and louder, stirring up dust and debris as it neared the sandy earth. Another chopper was also on the descent on the other side of the Mesa, effectively boxing Gus in. In the distance, police cars and FBI SUV's were closing in on land.

(The Hikers)

Chris ran as fast as possible with Mark and Molly following behind. His target was a rise in the land that might be high enough to allow a cell phone signal to get through. He scrambled up the small hill and grasped his phone, jabbing the buttons to wake it up. As Mark and Molly joined him, panting and hopeful, Chris saw his phone light up! He had a signal! Turning round and around to get the most bars, he found a good spot and dialed 911 for the police. As the call was picked up, he spilled out his story of dead bodies in the desert, beside Red Mesa and a crazy man driving like a fool towards it. When he mentioned the man in the back of the truck, it was the confirmation the 911 operator had hoped for. The police were going to the right location. After that, there was nothing else Chris and his friends could do but keep walking to their base camp and drive home.

(Red Mesa)

Gus and Jane heard the sound of the helicopter before they could see it. Jane broke out in a grin, knowing that his friends would be onboard ready to rescue him. He kept advancing, with an extra bit of pep in his step as he hugged the hill and made his way along the side of the Mesa. He had a wide path, with a good 30 feet on his left side leading to the edge of the ravine, but walking 'way out there would make him a target, so he clung to the Mesa wall as much as possible.

Gus looked up and cursed, knowing intruders were on their way down, interrupting his plans. Well they could just go to hell! Nothing would stop him from eliminating this disgusting piece of trash who pretended to be Ben, right in Gus's own house! He stepped away from the Mesa and tried to advance a bit quicker, but found the soil too loose and rocky close to the ravine to make the journey safely. Back to hugging the wall. Jane was a good 30 feet in front of Gus and had much more land to cover before he could turn the next corner and see the truck that was on the opposite side of the hill. If he could just keep up the pace he was going to be OK.

The radio crackled on the chopper and the pilot listened to the report from Calderone. Hikers had seen dead bodies in the ravine running alongside the Mesa. The latest news was relayed to the agents aboard the chopper and they knew full well that all of the missing men were down there, and Jane would soon join them if they arrived too late.

The chopper landed gently, the doors sliding open as soon as the people inside could step out onto the soft dirt. Abbott, Cho and Lisbon, along with two other agents from Houston took off at a run toward the Mesa, not sure where their quarry was, but certain he was right in front of them. Gus couldn't see the FBI agents, just as they couldn't see him. It was a giant puzzle piece set into the desert, with tiny men scrambling all around it. As more Agents poured out of the second chopper on the other side of the Mesa, a cordon was set up to ensnare Gus and Jane as they made their appearance. Jane could see the second chopper in the distance and kept going as fast as possible, still on the dark side of the Mesa, out of sight of the assembled agents. He was so focussed on moving forward that he didn't take the time to look down at where he put his feet. A large prairie dog hole lay straight ahead of him and his foot slipped into it, pitching him forward twisting his ankle. He lay sprawled on the ground gasping for breath as shards of pain raced to his brain. His ankle began to swell and protest from being wrenched so suddenly in the wrong direction. Jane had no time to coddle himself. He struggled to get up and had to hobble painfull forward on his now sprained ankle, advancing so slowly that unless a miracle occurred, Gus would soon be upon him. He held the wall and forced himself along, wincing at the effort, trying to get to the bend and signal to the agents who were running everywhere looking for him. Another 1000 feet and he'd be in full view of the agents, could call or whistle or scream for attention, 1000 feet away, safety beckoned.

Abbott ran up to the pickup truck and checked inside the cab for bodies. The box was empty save for an old pile of rope. Cho and Lisbon stared at the enormous hill in front of them then turned to study the desert on the other side.

"They could be anywhere Dennis" Lisbon said, eager to start her pursuit, but in which direction?

The men from the other chopper jogged over and joined Abbott and his little group. There was no cell service this far out so they couldn't coordinate their search that way. They'd have to resort to using old fashioned walkie talkies while jogging around the Mesa and out into the desert, searching every pile of boulders and stand of trees. A team was delegated to search the land, while the second team began to encircle the Mesa, coming at Gus from two directions. If he was there with Jane, they'd eventually run into them. Fortunately, the agents had youth and strength on their side.

Cho and Lisbon ran together around the Mesa on the side closest to the truck, while Abbott and his team took the path where Jane had begun his escape. Jane was slowing down, his ankle large and puffy, the skin shiny and taut as the stretched ligaments filled with blood. He wanted to sit down, take a break, raise his foot and drink something cold, but that would have to wait. He didn't dare slow down. Where were his friends?

Abbott ran with surprising agility in the loose soil and made good headway, his fellow agents keeping up with the big man. On the extreme other side of the Mesa, Cho and Lisbon ran all out around the hill, their strength training and excellent fitness levels doing them justice. They quickly were closing in on the much slower old man and his injured quarry.

Gus ran as well as a man his age could. His long legs served him well and he was used to these conditions, having spent his whole life living close to the desert. He knew his target was wounded, and wounded animals tended to panic. If that's what Mr. Jane did, it would make Gus's job that much easier. A bullet would be quick, but he preferred to drag his prisoner to the brink of the ravine and let him see where he was going to spend eternity before the needle pierced his vein. Just visualizing it made Gus smile even as he huffed and puffed his way around the Mesa. He knew where every hiding place, small cave and eroded hole in the face of the Mesa was, so if the man in front of him thought he could hide out in one of them and ambush him, he would be sadly disappointed.

Jane struggled onward. The pathway had so far been very wide, but gradually it started to narrow, the distance from the wall of the Mesa to the edge of the ravine getting smaller and smaller. Wind and erosion on this side of the Mesa had gradually eaten away the land in a slow but inevitable slide to the lip of the dry riverbed. Rain pouring down from the flat tabletop of the Mesa in the infrequent thunderstorms was carving away the base of the Mesa on the river's side and in time, the whole side of the Mesa could crumble and collapse down into the ravine hundreds of years from now. As long as Jane had enough room to put one foot in front of the other, he would keep going until he found his way back to the truck.

Lisbon and Cho led a small party of agents going towards Jane from the right to the left side of the hill, and Abbott was going from left to right, with Gus and Jane somewhere in the middle. A crash behind Cho slowed him down as he peered over his shoulder to see one agent sprawled on his stomach, the fallen man momentarily stunned and embarrassed to have stumbled. Ignoring him, Cho continued, determined to keep up to Lisbon. He didn't want her to get so far ahead of him that she left herself exposed to Gus and his weapon. Lisbon was fully in the shadow of the Mesa, the sun sinking lower on the other side of the hill closest to the truck. She saw many ruts and holes in the surface of the land now, an indication of prairie dogs busily building their tunnels and nests directly under their feet. If she didn't watch where she placed each foot now, she could step into hole and fall herself, or break an ankle. She had to slow down now in the face of this new challenge. Cho soon saw the same problem himself and signalled to the agents behind him silently to look down and watch where they walked.

(The Farm)

Jillie and Maggie had been taken out of the house now that the property had been searched again and secured by local cops. Several of the officers knew both Gus and Jillie, had done so since they were kids and felt badly for the old woman. Whatever her husband had done, this kind woman didn't deserve this kind of heartache at her age. The policewoman was finally given the go-ahead and placed both women in her car, then drove them both back towards Lost Wells. Maisie had been informed about the situation on the farm but was told that Maggie was OK and in need of care when she arrived. Maisie offered to take in Jillie as well. Who else would take care of her now? Maisie paced the floor in her office, waiting to see her sister once again at the end of this terrible terrible week.


	18. One False Step

Lots of action ahead, so buckle up! Thanks for all of your kind reviews and comments. New reviewers always welcome!

Return to Me

Chapter 18

One False Step

Jane had been running for a long time. How long was hard to determine, but judging by the size of his ankle and his current state of exhaustion, it had to be at least 30 minutes. The Mesa was very large and the conditions were bad for circumnavigating it. The only thought that gave him solace was that the pursuit was just as hard on Gus as it was on him. Up ahead Jane could see that the path got wider again, giving him hope that the rest of the slog around the hill would be easier and without challenges. Jane took a tiny moment to stop and catch his breath, his shirt stuck to his back with sweat. He glanced behind him and couldn't see the old man yet, so he still felt he had a chance to make it to the truck before he became a target.

Gus felt like throwing up. A man his age, even in his good condition, was not meant to be running around Mesa's in the late afternoon heat. Thoughts of Jillie ran through his mind, his beloved, faithful Jillie who had always been there for him, in his darkest days after the accident when he didn't know up from down. How she found the strength to carry on and live a life of relative happiness after Ben…

He couldn't let his mind go to Ben. Not now. Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he tried to put Jillie out of his mind too. He would explain everything to her when he got home again, make her understand how he kept finding men who looked like Ben, sounded like Ben, could be Ben. He would make her see the reason behind his actions. His delusion made perfect sense to him and he sadly believed it would make sense to that innocent woman as well. He once again patted his pocket to make sure the syringe was still safely lodged there for his use soon, very soon. Feeling it bulge in his pocket he took a deep breath and once again, increased his pace, his quarry not that far ahead.

Abbott ran like an athlete across the sand, his walkie talkie bouncing at his hip. Until he caught sight of the man he was after, there was no sense in speaking to his other agents . They'd signal if they found anything to report. So onward he ran, as silently as possible with his equally stealthy fellow agents.

Jane was slowing down, he could feel it. Wanting to run fast and actually being able to do it were two different things. His ankle was now a huge liability and the pain from it and his broken wrist were making him sick to his stomach. A shot of morphine would be perfect just about now. He hobbled along until he saw another small alcove ahead. There he would pause again and if necessary, take a stand.

After slowly covering another 30 feet of land, Jane reached the small alcove that the wind had carved into the base of the Mesa. He leaned into the space, savouring the relative cover it gave him temporarily and poked his head out, looking for Gus. About 50 feet away, he spotted him, huffing and puffing in exhaustion, looking like he could fall down at any moment. If not for that gun, Jane would just wait for him and pummel Gus with rocks until he couldn't fight back. But a rock against a gun was a losing proposition. Jane gathered his strength for the final slog around the Mesa and hopped back onto the path. He got 15 feet away when a bullet whizzed by his head, shattering the face of the Mesa. He ducked down and covered his head with his hand, peering over his shoulder. Gus stood ramrod straight, his gun aimed at Jane as he fingered the trigger. As Jane took another hop away a second bullet tore through the air, pinging off the ground beside Jane's toe. He froze mid-step. Gus ran forward with a maniacal leer, his energy renewed but his aim getting worse with fatigue.

"Got you ya bastard!" Gus screamed, unaware how close the agents currently circling the Mesa were behind him.

Cho and Lisbon, who were the closest agents to the spot where Jane was pinned, heard the gunshots and picked up the pace, although no one could run fast under these conditions. Cho and Lisbon had their guns in hand, ready to use as soon as the target presented itself.

"Gunshots fired!" an agent behind Cho screamed into his walkie talkie, alerting Abbott and his men of the situation ahead.

Gus was moving faster now, as Jane pressed himself up against a shallow in the rock wall and raised his right arm over his head, a rock hidden in his palm. When Gus got close enough, Jane stepped out and hurled a rock at the old man before turning to run, or rather, hop away. The rock glanced off Gus's shoulder, setting him to howling in pain. Using this distraction, Jane ran off again towards the agents he felt sure were a short distance ahead of him around the bend. Another bullet tore through the air and slammed into the rocky face of the Mesa, sending sharp edged shrapnel into the air, slicing Jane's right earlobe, before burying itself in the sand. Jane ignored the wet trickle of blood seeping into his shirt collar and kept hobbling forward, pausing only to turn and fire another rock at Gus, this time hitting him in the forehead. The old man reeled from the blow, and fell down, blood streaming into his eyes from a deep cut above his nose. Jane kept going, calling for help, surely someone would hear him now!

Abbott was running as fast as the land would allow him to move and was close enough to Gus to hear the rifle firing. Gus was going to kill Jane soon, eventually a bullet would find its target. Cho screamed for Jane, hoping he could hear him and know the Feds were close by. Jane heard his friend's voice and felt heartened by it, help was near. Gus stood up unsteadily and resumed running awkwardly after Jane, enraged by being assaulted with rocks. Why couldn't this guy just give up and die? Ahead of Jane the pathway suddenly narrowed and ended. Runoff from the last storm had opened a chasm 3 feet wide separating this side of the path from the other. Constant rain spilling off the top of the Mesa had eroded the land directly underneath on that side of the hill, making this a large rut for the rainwater to sluice down into the ravine below. When Jane saw it he realized he had reached the end of his escape route as the path no longer existed. A small 3 foot chasm might as well have been 30 feet wide in his condition. He could go no further with his twisted ankle and broken arm. Gus had him trapped. As he turned around, rock in hand to face his nemesis, Gus advanced with his rifle held high, feeling cocky, his finger on the trigger as he came in for the kill shot. He slowed down to improve his aim and knew the bullet would hit his mark, mid-chest, slightly to his right, the middle of the heart. In the moment it took for Gus to find his bullseye, Jane advanced, having run out of options and hurled a large rock at Gus and watched it glance off his rifle, knocking it out of his hands. Now the old man had no weapon and the odds were evened!

Lisbon was screaming as she ran for Jane to hang on, help was coming! She and Cho fought diligently against the sandy conditions and made their way forward around the undulating wall, the shape of the Mesa still an impediment to their sight lines.

Jane advanced on Gus and tried to stop him from scrabbling over to pick up his gun which had skittered several feet away. Another rock bounced off Gus's body, stopping him momentarily from reaching his rifle as he curled in on himself in self-protection. Then Jane was upon him, pounding him with his good fist, his left arm useless in this fight. Lisbon and Cho were almost around the last corner, and would soon see their friend ahead. Gus lifted himself off the ground with one strong arm and with the other fist, punched Jane's chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him crashing to the ground. In a split second, he turned and grabbed his rifle. Now he had the advantage once again. Flat on his back, Jane tried to fill his lungs with air and reached down to search for another rock, but they had all fallen out of the bottom of his shirt.

"Stand up ya bastard! Stand up and face me like the liar you are!" Gus yelled at Jane. Jane wasn't going to make this easy for Gus. The old man would have to shoot him where he lay, he wouldn't surrender. The only weapon Jane had left was his words.

"No. You've done enough harm Gus. It's time to stop. Stop for Jillie's sake. Stop for Maggie's sake. Stop in memory of Ben. It's time to let Ben rest in peace once and for all" Jane told him calmly.

"Don't you dare mention my boy's name, you bastard! You don't deserve to speak his name!" Gus yelled, his hands shaking with adrenaline.

"Don't I? Why am I here then, huh? You did this to me Gus! I never pretended to be Ben!" Jane shouted, as he tried to back up away from the gun. "Not until you made me do it today!"

"Shut up or I'll shoot you right now!" Gus bellowed. Jane continued undeterred, stalling for time.

"You kidnapped me off the street based on your delusions, your need to resurrect a dead man! I just happened to be there when you needed to take another man and make him a scapegoat or a replacement for Ben!"

"You shut up about my boy! All you men are the same...pretending to be him...blond and handsome, so alive…"

Gus's voice petered out as he began to hallucinate.

Jane sat up, his hand above his head to show he was no threat to the old man now. He had to keep Gus talking until Abbott or Lisbon could take him out.

"Gus, think...Jillie knows what you've done. So does Maggie. It's over, whether you kill me or not, it's over now. You can't take another man and make him your son. Ben's dead Gus."

Hearing those awful words, Gus lost it completely. He advanced on Jane in a blind rage and struck him in the jaw with his fist, knocking him out. Jane fell back into the dirt while Gus stood triumphantly over him, his gun draped loosely over his forearm, the barrel aimed at Jane's heart.

"My Ben ain't dead...he ain't dead... not my boy" he mumbled as he finally dropped his rifle and grabbed Jane under his arms. Gus started to drag him away from the wall of the Mesa and out towards the lip of ground leading to the ravine below.

"It's time you met your new neighbours" Gus cackled, dragging the heavy body through the silky sand as Cho, Abbott and Lisbon raced the last few yards to the end of the path. Gus only had to drag Jane about 10 feet and then dropped him on the ground, his limp hand flopping over the giant crevasse below. Dropping to his knees, Gus got the syringe out of his pocket, using both unsteady hands to uncap the syringe before he pushed the sleeve up on Jane's arm.

"I told you not to lie to me but you did, you sonofabitch" Gus mumbled, his hands shaking in anticipation of the final act to rid the earth of this charlatan. Grabbing Jane's unresisting arm, Gus tapped it to raise a vein for the injection.

"This won't hurt a bit" Gus laughed as he ran a finger over the fat blue vein that he had found. Pressing the tip of the needle against Jane's bare white skin, Gus paused to wipe the blood out of his eyes from the dripping cut made by Jane's rock.

"Say bye bye to all your lies you bastard" Gus said, his thumb on the plunger of the syringe.

"Drop the needle Gus!" Lisbon screamed.

The old man froze, his pursuers forgotten until now. Turning his head, he stared into the face of a beautiful but determined woman who held a gun steadily in her two raised hands, aimed directly at him.

"Do it!" yelled Cho, his arm raised as well. "Drop the syringe!"

Gus looked at the Asian man and no longer felt fear, or shame, or regret, just anger that he had to do this righteous work so quickly now, under these circumstances. No matter, he only needed to depress the plunger and this imposter would die no matter what the cops said or did. He still had the upper hand. But he could fake them out...wasn't that what all the kids called it nowadays?

"Yes sir, I meant no harm...just teaching this bastard a lesson" Gus lied, lifting his left hand skyward, while his right hand kept the needle securely in its grip.

"Drop the needle now!" Lisbon bellowed, not seeing both of his hands. Gus lifted his right thumb fractionally, needing only another second to do his duty to Ben.

As the tip of the needle started to be jammed into Jane's vein, a gun exploded at close range and Gus fell backwards, falling to the ground beside Jane's insensate form. As the old man slumped down onto his heels and fell sideways, his body tumbled down into the ravine. Lisbon stood rigidly on the far side of the chasm, her smoking gun still raised and steady. She prayed Gus was not dead as she'd taken her time to make sure her aim was true but not a kill shot. Now she and Cho stared at Jane's inert body. The pathway was missing in front of them and they couldn't get to Jane, even though they could see him about 13 feet in front of them. Abbott rounded the bend from the other side of the chasm, gun raised, and stopped when he saw Jane's still body at the edge of the ravine. Gus was nowhere in sight.

"Check Jane! Is he breathing?" Lisbon shouted, going crazy that she couldn't get to her lover. As Abbott and his men ran over to Jane, Lisbon took the matter into her own hands.

"Screw it!" Lisbon shouted, backing up and taking a run at the gap in the path. She sailed across the chasm with room to spare and ran to Jane's side. Cho did the same, landing heavily in the loose dirt. Dennis bent down and put his finger on Jane's carotid artery. A steady pulse pounded just under his finger and Dennis smiled.

"He's alive Teresa" he said with relief. Seeing the syringe laying against Jane's arm, Dennis picked it up, recapped it and placed it in an evidence baggie before he turned back to Jane. Teresa had her hand on his face and was gently patting it to rouse him. Cho gazed down into the ravine, searching for Gus.

Jane was beginning to come around, his jaw aching from the punch Gus had delivered. For an old guy, he had been very strong.

"Jane...come on buddy, wake up" Dennis said, shaking the groggy man on the ground. Jane was cross eyed from the punch but gradually focussed on Abbott's smiling face.

"Teresa?" Jane said, looking around in confusion.

"Sorry, just me" Dennis smiled. "Teresa's right here" he indicated, showing Jane where she was kneeling on the ground beside him.

"I'm here" Teresa assured Jane as he took another look at her to make sure she wasn't a fantasy. Reaching out to touch her face Jane smiled weakly as her warm skin met his fingertips.

"What took you so long?" he asked as he began to fade. Lisbon's smile instantly fell off her face as she leaned over him to tap his face again.

"Come on Patrick, wake up! Wake up Patrick!" she begged him. "Cho?"

Cho stepped in and examined Jane, being the only trained medic on the spot at the moment. After a rudimentary examination, Cho concluded that Jane was dehydrated, in shock and exhausted. His arm looked awful and another check revealed his swollen and blue ankle.

"We need to chopper him outta here. There's no way he can walk, when he finally wakes up Dennis" Cho advised his boss.

"OK, the Rescue chopper is airborne and will have to drop the EMT over the ravine. I'll call them in" Abbott advised Cho and Lisbon.

Cho stood up and gazed down into the dry riverbed below again. There, lying between the remains of the men he had killed over the last few months, Gus twitched and moaned in pain from Lisbon's gunshot and the effects of the tumble down into the ravine. Cho hoped the old man would survive long enough to be choppered out of there and treated at a hospital. He needed to be charged as the murderer he was.

The Rescue chopper had been hovering nearby waiting for Abbott's signal. The pilot maneuvered carefully to get close to the side of the Mesa and lowered a basket on a wire for the most severely injured patient, Gus. An EMT was lowered into the ravine and loaded the old man into a basket for transport to the hospital. As soon as he was secured and tied down inside the helicopter under the care of a medic, the pilot once again sent down the cable holding another basket, this time for Jane.

Guided by an EMT, the line got closer to the lip of the ravine and Cho leaned out over the edge of the pathway and grabbed the basket as it approached, pulling the EMT onto the path as well.

"How's everyone doing?" the EMT asked cheerfully, dropping to his knees to examine Jane.

The medic checked Jane all over for injuries and put a bandage on his heavily bleeding earlobe, then put a temporary splint on his ankle and wrist to immobilize them for the trip to the hospital. He was covered in bruises and his head wounds needed to be checked and cleaned. Jane was in desperate need of fluids, but that could wait until he was airborne. After 5 minutes, Jane was readied for transport to the hospital. Cho and the EMT got Jane loaded into the basket and at the signal, the chopper lifted both the EMT and Jane back up into chopper and took off for Houston. Abbott had to stay at the scene to process it. Lisbon had fired her weapon and would need to be debriefed when they got back to work, but with Cho as a witness, she would be cleared of any wrongdoing. Abbott didn't keep Cho and Lisbon long, and very soon they were running back around the Mesa to get back to Lost Wells.

Abbott turned and looked down into the gash in the earth where Gus's victims lay in the dust. Shaking his head at the irony of it all, Abbott got on his Walkie Talkie and arranged for the Forensics team to move in and start their grisly work.

After driving until they found a signal, Cho got on the phone with Calderone and arranged a chopper to take them to Houston, saving a long drive through the country and city traffic. Abbott planned to make his way back to Jillie and Maggie at the motel to speak to both of them. Once the FBI was ready, the forensic team would enter the ravine and start the grim task of lifting the skeletal remains out of the ground and transporting them to Houston for examination and identification. As the local police and FBI secured the scene, Jane and Gus were airborne and well on their way to Houston General Hospital.


	19. The Good Drugs

Well finally a much happier chapter! This story will wrap up soon, just a bit more to go. Thanks for coming along for the fun!

Return to Me

Chapter 19

The Good Drugs

(Lost Wells)

Maisie stood waiting on the sidewalk for the police car to arrive carrying her sister and Jillie Collins. When she had encouraged Maggie to make the drive out to visit Jillie and Gus earlier today, she could never have guessed that the day would turn out so tragically. The idea that Maggie was in danger out there with Gus as deranged as he was now gave her cold chills, and a huge amount of guilt. Crunching tires on the gravel roused her from her despondent thoughts and Maisie looked up to see the car pulling into the parking lot. In moments Maggie was out of the car and flew into Maisie's outstretched arms.

"Oh sweetie, are you OK? Are you alright?" Maisie asked, overcome with relief that her sister was home again.

For her part, the motel had never looked so good to Maggie, and she held fast to her sister for a long time. Finally breaking apart, Maggie wiped her tears away and smiled for the first time since Gus revealed his alter ego.

"Maisie, Poppa Gus did a very bad thing. The other day, he hurt Mr. Jane and I never told you. It was bad of me but I was scared and didn't know what to do" she admitted, feeling ashamed of herself.

"Maggie, let's just be happy you're home now and we'll talk about all that later, when you've had time to rest and think it all out, OK?" Maisie said. She wanted Maggie to tell her everything, no secrets anymore, but she rightly guessed that for now, Maggie needed to put it behind her for a while and just feel safe again. Putting her arm around her sister, Maisie then turned to Jillie, who was walking over to the two women leaning on the arm of the kind policewoman.

"Mrs. Collins, please, come in and sit down" Maisie told her, inviting her into the office. All four women went inside and found chairs in the small space.

"Will you take care of Mrs. Collins tonight?" the policewoman asked, making sure she could leave her charge in good hands.

"Yes, of course, tonight and for as long as Jillie wants to stay, she'll be welcome here" Maisie assured her.

"Alright then, I'll be on my way. An agent will be coming to interview Mrs. Collins, but for tonight, I think she shouldn't be left alone. She needs to come to terms with what happened today. As soon as we have information about Gus and Mr. Jane, we'll let you know. We'll be in touch Mrs. Lyons" the cop said, leaving her card beside Jillie's purse, then she discreetly left the other three women alone.

Maisie and Maggie escorted Jillie to the house and made her comfortable, providing care and love for the woman who was now suddenly without the man she had loved her whole life. When news came of the chase at Red Mesa, Jillie would learn that Gus would never be coming home again.

(Rescue Chopper)

While one EMT worked on Gus to staunch the flow of blood from his gunshot wound and keep him from going into shock, the other EMT worked efficiently to stabilize Jane with fluids and pain medication to keep him comfortable until the chopper reached Houston. He had come to on the chopper and was confused by being in the air, as his last memory was of Lisbon sitting by his side, holding his face in her hands. What was going on?

"Mr. Jane? Welcome back sir" the EMT said, happy that his patient was conscious.

Jane looked around and realized where he was. Gazing across the small space on the medical chopper, he spied Gus strapped down on his own gurney, unconscious and apparently badly wounded. Jane had to assume Cho or Lisbon got to Gus before he completed his plan to kill him. Now that they both were being flown to a hospital, Jane relaxed, knowing that he was finally out of danger. For the first time in two days, his pain level had almost disappeared due to the drugs his medic had administered into the IV drip, and it felt wonderful. Checking himself out, Jane spotted the splint on his left wrist and another on his ankle. A large dressing was stuck to his ear and another on the back of his head.

Then it all came back to him, the desperate attempt to get around the seemingly endless Mesa, the twisted ankle, Gus's descent into madness. But who had taken out Gus? He had no idea.

"Where's Lisbon, Cho? Are they here?" he asked softly, checking the small space to see if they were sitting up front with the pilot.

"I'm afraid it's just us and the pilot, but I'm sure your friends will be joining you in Houston soon. Just relax and try to keep still OK Mr. Jane? We'll be there soon."

"Hmmm" came the sleepy response. With nothing to worry about now, Jane allowed himself to drift off again.

The flight was mercifully short, and soon Jane was being wheeled into the ER for further care. X-rays confirmed the broken wrist, which would need to be surgically repaired, but his ankle was just badly sprained and wouldn't need anything more than a tensor bandage and complete rest for a couple of weeks. A few stitches closed the laceration in his scalp and his CT scan indicated a slight concussion. Considering everything he'd been through, he had managed to escape much more serious injuries.

By the time he was out of the ER department and on his way to a room to wait for a surgical suite to become available, Cho and Lisbon had arrived at the hospital and went looking for their friend. The good news was that he was going to be OK, the bad news was that the meds given to him on the chopper were beginning to wear off while he waited for surgery. Jane lay on the bed exhausted and sore all over. A light tap on the door alerted him to the arrival of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and his stoic Korean friend.

"Teresa, Kimball, come in. Sit down!"

Teresa leaned over and planted a big kiss on Jane's lips, not caring in the least that Kimball was slightly embarrassed at her public display of affection. For her part, she almost lost Jane today so she didn't give a damn who saw her kiss her man.

"Mmmm...that helps" Jane cooed as her lips left his.

"I could leave if you like" Cho teased.

"Life lessons Cho...consider it part of your education" Jane mumbled, shaking his friend's hand as both grinned.

"I think I've got puberty all figured out, thanks all the same Jane" Cho informed him.

Teresa pulled up a chair as did Cho, and let her eyes run over Jane, to see just how he was. Blue bruises were starting to show up all over his body, his hand and wrist red and swollen, his ankle every colour of the rainbow and huge as well. The bandage on his ear caught her attention.

"What's that all about?" she asked, pointing at the large white dressing.

"That? Oh ahhh...Gus decided to use my ear for target practice. Fortunately, his aim was off, apparently. So it looks like I still have both ears my dear" Jane smiled.

"Well that's a relief" Teresa grinned, finally allowing herself to relax.

Jane closed his eyes and grimaced as a wave of pain rolled through his arm, then he turned to face Cho, his need to know how it all ended out there in the desert occupying his mind.

"So...what happened? Who stopped Gus? One minute he was standing over me and the next, I was on a chopper. I don't remember anything else."

"He dragged you over to the lip of the ravine and was about to inject you with an overdose of barbiturates. We gave him warnings to drop the syringe, but he wouldn't. Lisbon shot him. Based on what he did to several other men found in the ravine, he was planning to throw you over the edge, letting you die down there" Cho explained succinctly.

Jane let that image play out in his mind. He came very close to dying today. Replaying Cho's words, he had a question for Lisbon and Cho.

"An overdose..like Valeriote...several others?" Jane asked. "How many others did he kill that we didn't know about?"

'We're still waiting for the final report, but there were more men than we originally thought. He'd been at it for a while."

This was a new twist for Jane and he needed time to process it. Then he looked up at Lisbon.

"So...Gus...will he make it?"

"Don't know yet. I took him out before he had a chance to inject you...we gave him a chance to surrender…" Lisbon said, happy not to have killed the old man, no matter what he'd done.

All three fell silent as Jane considered the outcome of Gus's delusions. Once he had been a very fine man, a loving husband and a doting if stern father, of that Jane was certain.

"And Jillie? Is she OK? Where is Jillie, and Maggie?"

"They're fine, I guess" Teresa said. "Maisie will take care of Jillie for now, and I'm sure will be there for her going forward. As for Maggie, with time maybe she'll come to understand what happened. At least she has her sister to take care of her."

Jane nodded. They were two fine women who didn't deserve this sadness...but then...few people did. Jane shifted in the less than comfortable bed and another wave of pain emanating from his foot caused a hiss to escape Jane's lips.

"What's wrong? Should I call a nurse?" Lisbon asked worriedly, standing up to hold Jane's shoulder.

As the moment passed, Jane opened his eyes and relaxed again.

"They won't give me the good drugs. Too close to having surgery, then I can go bye bye and not feel a thing. Can't wait" he admitted.

"Sorry you have to go through this Patrick. But you'll be home soon" was all Teresa could think to say to offer some comfort for his pain.

"That sounds good. Before they knock me out, I need to tell you about Robert Thomas. Gus got him too" Jane informed his friends.

"I'll let Calderone know. Take your time, when you're up to it we can depose you" Cho told Jane. "There's no need to get into it right now."

A knock on the door was immediately followed by an orderly entering the room accompanied by a nurse.

"They're ready for you in the OR Mr. Jane" the nurse said, checking his bracelet to make sure they had the right patient.

"You can tell us about Agent Thomas tomorrow Patrick" Lisbon said as she kissed his cheek, then whispered into his ear.

"Time for the good drugs Mister."

"Finally" he smiled, reaching up to shake Cho's hand as the bed was pulled towards the door.

"See you soon Jane" Cho said stoically, then waited while Teresa walked out with Jane.

He followed a few steps behind to give Jane and Lisbon some privacy.

"You be good in there" Teresa told her man, while he held her hand in nervousness. He truly hated hospitals, but for once, he was looking forward to the injection that would take all of his pain away for at least the next little while. Too soon for Lisbon, they arrived at the entrance to the OR and she had to say goodbye.

"I'll be right here for you Patrick" she said as he disappeared through the doors and left her standing with Cho beside her.

Lisbon looked at the dingy waiting room and didn't look forward to spending at least the next hour or two there.

"Coffee?" Cho asked, knowing exactly what Lisbon would need just about now.

"Absolutely" she smiled, relieved that Jane was safe, in good hands, and soon, would be on the mend.


	20. Calming Down

Happy Labour Day Weekend everyone! We are down to the last few chapters and I want to thank all of you for reading and reviewing. Much appreciated.

Return to Me

Chapter 20

Calming Down

Gus was ushered into surgery at about the same time as Jane, but his injuries were much more extensive. A gunshot wound was serious no matter what, but his advanced age was working against him, coupled with shock, blood loss and exhaustion. The team of surgeons worked diligently for three hours to stabilize him, remove the bullet from his shoulder and repair his torn and damaged muscles. His would be a long slow recovery, but barring any infections or other setbacks, it was determined that Gus Collins would live. He was placed in a secure, guarded room in the ICU, until he could safely be moved to a cell in a medical facility.

Jane came through his surgery very well. The orthopedic surgeon had to realign the bones in his forearm and wrist, then secured them so that the slow healing process could begin. A large cast enveloped his hand leaving his pink fingers sticking out, and travelled up his arm to his elbow to ensure nothing inside his arm would shift around and undo the careful work of the surgeon.

The good drugs were still having the desired effect as Jane was wheeled into the recovery room. His anaesthetic fog slowly began to dissipate as the nurses buzzed all around him caring for other patients. Gradually the buzzing and humming sounds in the room worked through Jane's sleepy brain, rousing him from his dreamless state in the recovery room. Feeling oddly weightless and disoriented, he worked hard at trying to recognize the strange sounds surrounding him as he forced his eyes open. When he did, the bright lights in the busy room shocked him into full wakefulness. Twisting his head to take in the scene all around him, Jane found himself in a long room with beds lined up on either side, each one occupied by someone who had recently undergone surgery of some sort. Why was he here? What was going on?

Oh yes…

he'd been kidnapped and hurt and…

what happened next?

"Ah there you are Mr. Jane! How are you feeling?" a soft voice said close to his ear. Jane turned his head back to face the other direction and gazed into the face of a young nurse who was taking his blood pressure.

Clearing his dry throat, Jane paused to consider his answer. He was full of questions, but this young woman wouldn't have the answers he needed. Best to just placate her he decided. Fighting back the impulse to say something snarky, as he was actually too tired to come up with anything suitably pithy, he instead settled for a simplistic platitude.

"Fine. Just peachy."

The nurse laughed softly and finished her post-op check up.

"I doubt you feel peachy, but hopefully you will soon. Would you like a sip of water or apple juice ?"

"Mmmm...sounds good" Jane sighed, closing his eyes against the depressing scene all around him.

In a matter of moments the young woman placed a cup of juice with a long straw in Jane's shaky hand and helped him to sip some of the sweet liquid. At that moment it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. As he regained his full senses, the head nurse checked him out and decided he was well enough to be returned to his room. When the doors to the recovery room opened to allow his bed through, the first person Jane saw in the hallway was Lisbon, her face tired but happy with relief.

"Hey you" she smiled, taking his free hand as she walked alongside the bed.

"Hey" Jane replied, smiling for the first time since he woke up.

"That's quite the impressive cast you've got there" Teresa said, pointing to Jane's repaired and casted left arm.

Gazing at it for the first time, Jane had to agree the cast was enormous, his pink fingers looking like tiny sausages sticking out from the end of it.

"They left lots of room for signatures, that's all" he joked. He moved his foot and was instantly rewarded with a sharp pain darting around his ankle. He'd forgotten about that injury. Walking was definitely going to be a trial, with a broken arm on one side, and a sprained ankle on the other, crutches were not going to be of any use to him once he got home.

The small group of people made its way to Jane's room and soon had him settled. When the nurses left, Teresa leaned over Patrick and gave him a lingering kiss.

"How are you, really?" she asked seriously.

Sighing audibly, Patrick shook his head in annoyance.

"I'm not going to be much use to anyone for the next little while. Everything hurts!" he groused, feeling his many bruises and the ache in his arm and foot increasing the more the anaesthetic wore off.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Patrick" Teresa said seriously. "But you made it out alive. You stalled long enough for us to get to you. It was close" she added, knowing she could have lost Patrick forever out there in the desert.

A thought occurred to her. "I'm sure the nurse will be in with some pain medication for you soon. Your arm required a lot of reconstructive work since the bones got shifted around so much while you were with Gus. Don't be a hero, take the drugs!" she warned him.

"Oh don't worry, no delusions of grandeur here, I won't refuse some morphine" Patrick assured her groggily.

"No delusions of grandeur? That'll be a first!" Teresa snorted in laughter.

"Don't mock the afflicted…" Jane sniffed in faux indignation.

"Sorry...you left that door wide open" Teresa reminded him. "Hey...I'll give Abbott a call soon and find out how Gus is doing. Hopefully he can be interrogated some time in the next few days."

Jane nodded, deep in thought. The old man had been a one man wrecking crew, dangerous and predatory if he ran into anyone who reminded him of his long dead son Ben. If he had not been stopped, how many more men would have died of a drug overdose and been tossed like garbage into the dry riverbed beyond the edge of Lost Wells? The only good thing that came of Jane's abduction was that it did lead to Gus being stopped, once and for all.

"I ahhh..I spoke to Gus, about Ben, and the other men…" Patrick said softly, his throat still scratchy and dry.

"Patrick, you're not up to it, we don't have to go into to it now. Take some time to just rest and put it out of your mind, at least for today. OK?" Teresa suggested, not wanting Patrick to go back to those dark hours, not yet anyway. "There's time for a debriefing tomorrow, when you feel stronger and more alert."

Jane relaxed against his pillows, his testimony key to the investigation, but Teresa was correct. Whatever he knew could keep until tomorrow. With Gus under arrest and guarded, time was on the side of the police.

"OK, sounds good. My throat is so dry."

Before Teresa could respond, the door opened and a nurse came in carrying an IV bag and a syringe loaded with pain medication. As Teresa watched, the nurse soon had Jane set up to receive the fluids and meds that would make him much more comfortable. Adjusting the flow of solution, the nurse smiled at Teresa and quietly left them both alone again. The drugs had the desired effect rapidly and all of the tension in Jane's face slipped away as the pain in his arm and foot ceased to thrum through his body with each heartbeat.

"Feeling better now?"

Patrick turned his head and smiled at Teresa. "So much better. Thanks for staying."

"Where else would I want to be?" she replied, running her palm down the side of Jane's face before she kissed him again.

"I'm afraid you're going to be stuck with me until I can get up and move around again" he warned her.

"Good."

"Good? How so?" he asked, surprised at her answer.

"I'll have you at my mercy. I can bend you to my will" Teresa laughed.

At that comment Patrick smirked. "Many have tried and failed my dear."

"That may be so, but they weren't me...and I know all your weaknesses. You won't stand a chance Mister!" she answered him, loving this teasing.

"I have weaknesses? Like what?"

"Ohh...like withholding tea...like taking away your clothes and leaving you to subsist in blue pajamas, like...ruining your eggs for breakfast…" Teresa began, enumerating the ways she could drive him nuts.

"You're a cruel woman Teresa Lisbon" Patrick smiled, reaching out for her and kissing her cheek.

"And don't you forget it!" she added.

"Speaking of tea…"Jane said, knowing what would make him happy just about now.

"I'm not sure if you're allowed to have any tea yet, but if you promise to be here when I get back, I'll go and ask the nurses if it's OK. I'll look for some decent tea for you and a coffee for me."

"Ahhh...not going anywhere Teresa!" Jane said, pointing to his foot.

"OK, be right back" she smiled, then headed for the door. As she took a quick look over her shoulder, Jane had already closed his eyes and was drifting off into a medicated slumber.

He was going to be just fine.

(Lost Wells)

Abbott felt Jane was in good hands with Teresa by his side, so he spent the necessary time interviewing Jillie briefly at the motel before he headed to the hospital in Houston. An interview with Maggie could be conducted in the next day or two when she had calmed down. No doubt he would see Mrs. Collins again when she went to visit Gus in Houston.

Maisie let the big man into her living room and brought Jillie Collins in from her temporary bedroom.

"I'm just packing a few things for our trip to the hospital to see Gus. I'll give you two some privacy" she explained before turning towards the old woman.

"Agent Abbott would like to ask you a few questions Jillie. Can you manage that?"

"Yes...anything to help Gus" the old woman answered. "How is he?"

Abbott stood up as Jillie entered the room and waited until she was seated before he sat down again. Maisie left to make coffee and to give them time to chat.

"I understand you found Gus, and Mr. Jane? How are they?" Jillie asked, worried sick.

"Mr. Jane was found at Red Mesa with some injuries that will heal in time. Mr. Collins was taken into custody and is under guard at the hospital. I'm sorry, but he suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder."

Jillie's hand flew up to her mouth in shock. "But he'll be OK? He didn't die?"

"No Ma'am, he's going to be fine, with care and time."

"Thank the good Lord. When can I go to see him?"

"Soon, very soon. Mrs. Collins, as Maisie told you, I'm Senior Agent Dennis Abbott with the Austin FBI. As you may know, it was my consultant, Patrick Jane, who was kidnapped by Gus."

Jillie folded her hands across her lap and composed herself. She knew she would have to face these questions sooner or later. Best get it over with before she left Lost Wells.

"Yes Agent Abbott, and I am so very sorry about what Gus did to that poor man. Please forgive him. I don't think he knew what he was doin'."

Abbott made sure not to smirk, but her comment was a huge understatement.

"Yes, you're right...Mr. Collins was not thinking too clearly when he did that to Mr. Jane. Can you tell me if he had brought any other men to the farm, men who he thought might be your son Ben?"

Jillie tucked her hair back up into her dishevelled bun and gazed out of the side window, thinking.

"Not that I know of, but Gus hasn't been himself for a while now. Actin' strange you might say. Talkin' to me about Ben more and more. I knew he was hurtin', missin' Ben so much...I just put it down to age. You understand that don't you Agent Abbott?"

"Yes, I understand losing a son must be a terrible thing to deal with."

"He seemed to handle it so much better years ago. But startin' last year, he put Ben's pictures all over the house, talked about him like he was just away for a while. Kind of like he expected him to come walkin' through that front door at any moment. I tried to get him to be reasonable, but…"

Jillie straightened her shoulders and peered straight at Abbott.

"But he got angry, real mad. Told me I was the crazy one. He'd go missin' for hours in the truck, drivin' around Lost Wells, or out into the desert, never explainin' what he was doin'. I tried to go along with him to keep a watch over him but he made me stay home. Said he needed to work alone."

"Work at what? Did he ever say what he was doing on those drives?" Abbott asked.

Jillie shook her head with resignation. She had failed to prevent him from driving away when he began to lose touch with reality. As long as he was home on the farm, he seemed to get back to himself again.

"I begged him to let me come with him, to go visit old friends in town to occupy his mind, but he wouldn't hear of it. The only time he was truly happy was when Maggie came to visit, then he calmed right down and was himself again. But as time went by, he got more and more distressed."

Maisie came in with a tray of coffee and cookies then discreetly left again. Abbott helped Jillie with her coffee cup then resumed his questioning.

"How did Gus get distressed? Distressed about what?"

Jillie sipped her coffee and nibbled her cookie, seeing Gus in her mind, railing against people he felt were letting him down, letting her down as well. There was no consoling him in those moments.

"I can't rightly say what set him off, but sometimes he'd go into town all calm like, but when he came home he was furious, angry at me, at the animals, at the whole world. He'd go out back to the small barn and bang around for hours. If I came out to see what he was up to he'd just yell at me to go back to the house and leave him alone. After a while, I just let him do whatever he needed to do to calm down out there."

"Do you think he could have kidnapped a man and brought him back to the farm and put him into that hole in the ground during one of those episodes?" Abbott asked, knowing he might be pushing the old woman too hard.

Jillie's eyes filled with tears as her shaky hands put her coffee cup back onto the small table.

"Sir...I can't know for sure just what he did to those men...but now I realize that maybe he did do some terrible things out back. While I made pies in my kitchen, he might have been draggin' some unfortunate soul across the yard before he threw him down into the pit. And I did nothin' to stop him. God will never forgive me…" she said meekly, her voice wavering in horror.

Abbott gave the woman a moment to compose herself. With help from friends and maybe therapy, Jillie would come to realize this was none of her doing. Gus had victimized her too. Eventually she reached for her coffee and took a long drink, feeling more settled. Talking to this kind man actually made her feel like her burden was a bit lighter.

"Mrs. Collins, you did nothing wrong. You were doing the best you could to keep Gus home and out of trouble. No one will blame you for what Gus did. Please believe me."

"I hope you're right sir."

"Mrs. Collins, our investigators found an old rug in your small barn. It looks like a portion of it was sliced off. Do you know the rug I'm talking about?"

Jillie was surprised this Agent was interested in the old living room rug that had been in an ancient cabin on their property. That thing was dirty, smelly and should have been disposed of years ago.

"Yes I know it. Horrid thing. We had an old cabin at the back of the farm but we tore it down about 5 years ago. Gus kept some of the wood to make some doors for the barn and recycled a few things, but the rug was foul. We should have burned it."

The rug matched the piece Gus had wrapped Martin Valeriote's body in when he dumped the dead man just within the town's limits, the body that Gus somehow thought would be a warning to other men to stop impersonating Ben.

"Was your husband friends with Fred Murdoch?"

"Freddy? Oh sure. Everybody knows Freddy Murdoch. He sells car parts and vacuums. Gus had him over to the house a few times."

"Did they spend any time alone at the farm, maybe out by the barn?" Abbott continued.

"Why yes, yes they did. Gus was goin' to show him some stuff in the barn or some other such business. You know how it is when men get together...cars, huntin', gossip. And they say women are the time wasters!"

"So it was normal that the two men would be alone together out back?"

"Oh, yes. I guess it was. Where is Freddy anyway? Is he in trouble too?" Jillie asked, wondering why they were talking about that salesman.

"I'm afraid he is in trouble. We're looking for him right now but it seems he's gone to Mexico."

"Well that's no surprise. Freddy always told me he loved Mexico almost as much as Texas. I do hope he isn't in too much trouble. Such a nice man" she said innocently. She had no idea he was the supplier of illegal drugs for the whole County.

"Mrs. Collins, did you ever see this man at your farm?"

Abbott held out a recent photo of Agent Thomas. Jillie took it and squinted at the picture. She needed her glasses.

"Maisie sugar, can you fetch me my readin' glasses?" Jillie called into the other room. A moment later Maisie appeared with the old woman's glasses then she left again.

"Now let me see this picture again. Uh huh...yep. This fella was related to our friend old Mrs. Thomas. He's her nephew or grandson or something. He was holdin' an auction of her things shortly after she died. Gus and I went over to see if there was anythin' we wanted. We bought a bed set to replace ours. Gus arranged for this man to help him bring the furniture over to the house a day or two after the auction. He seemed like a nice man."

"Did you see the man on the farm?"

"Yes dear, he helped carry the furniture into the house. Then he left and Gus came back inside to write him a cheque."

"Did you ever see him again, or see him leave?"

Jillie paused. She had not actually seen him leave with Gus later that afternoon. She only knew that Gus left in a hurry, said he had to finish up some work.

"No, sorry. He and Gus drove out to our farm in Gus's truck and Gus was going to drive Mr. Thomas back to Lost Wells after he dropped off the furniture. I just figured that's what happened. Why? Why would you ask?"

"We were just trying to track Mr. Thomas's actions that day" Abbott assured her, not wanting to alarm her by letting her know Thomas was most likely killed by Gus and never left the farm, not alive at least. In time, poor Jillie would learn just how many men died after making contact with her husband.

"Mrs. Collins, did Gus ever seek medical help for his moods, his depression?"

At this question Jillie was consumed with guilt. She knew something was very wrong with Gus, and she had planned to get him in for a checkup, if he'd go. But she never did get around to it. This was all her fault. If only she had insisted he see his doctor, maybe he'd be home with her right now.

"Gus didn't think anythin' was going on with him. He said I was the hysterical one. I was goin' to see if I could get him to go see our family doctor. But, he never did go. I'm sorry."

Abbott's phone trilled and he excused himself to take the call. It was from the hospital in Houston. Gus had survived his surgery and was being moved to ICU under guard. He was expected to wake up in the morning.

"Mrs. Collins, that was the hospital in Houston. Your husband is out of surgery and is doing well. Would you like to see him tomorrow?" Abbott asked her, seeing that it would do no harm and might help both Gus and Jillie.

"Oh thank you Agent Abbott! That would be wonderful! Oh but, how will I get there?" Jillie asked, thinking the distance was too far to drive.

"We'll take you with us on the helicopter, as my guest. Perhaps Maisie can drive into Houston to pick you up later in the day?" Abbott asked Maisie, who had joined Jillie in the living room. He was concerned about Gus and his health, even though it looked like he would recover. His wife needed a few precious moments with him before either death or the law took him away from her forever.

"That will be fine. Jillie, you go with Agent Abbott tomorrow and I'll take care of you after that, Maggie and I both will."

Mrs. Collins didn't know quite what to say to all this. A ride in a helicopter? With an FBI agent? This was all too much to take in. But the thought of seeing Gus again, safe, made everything better. Seeing that this was very kind of this man, Jillie nodded her head in agreement.

"That would be so wonderful, thank you sir" she said softly.

Abbott could see the old woman was at her limit and needed to have a rest, so he said his goodbyes and left. There was time to interview Maisie and Maggie in the next day or two, especially if they were going to be in Houston anyway. He would make arrangements with Calderone to do just that tomorrow.


	21. Sprung

Oh so close to the end of this story. But not finished just yet! Thank you for all of the reviews and comments. Your theories are always so clever!

Return to Me

Chapter 21

Sprung

It was late, well past visiting hours and Jane had not re-awakened when Lisbon returned with his tea. Flashing her badge at the nurse manning the desk, she was granted a bit longer to sit in his room and hold Jane's still hand. Her coffee was awful, the usual swill that came out of a machine but until she could get to a good coffee shop, it would have to do. As Lisbon got settled, a knock on the door was soon followed by a smiling Cho, who stepped into the room and stood at the foot of the bed.

"Thanks for coming back" Teresa smiled. "Jane's been asleep for a little while."

"How's he doing now?"

"Fine, I guess. The drugs they gave him after surgery took the edge off his pain and let him sleep. I don't want to wake him until he's good and ready."

"Looks like he's going to be stuck for a while, until his ankle heals at least" Cho surmised, gazing at the cast on Jane's arm and the large elastic wrapping all around his ankle.

"Yup. Should be interesting!" Lisbon agreed, before noticing Jane stirring in his bed. She ushered Cho out of the room, as their conversation might wake Jane up, which she didn't want. Her maternal instincts were on the rise.

"Have you heard from Abbott or Calderone?"

Cho sat on a chair outside Jane's door. He'd been on his feet for hours.

"Abbott just called. He spoke with Mrs. Collins and confirmed a few details about Martin Valeriote and Robert Thomas. Looks like Thomas was definitely at the farm, most likely killed there, and the rug Valeriote was wrapped up in was from the small barn. Mrs. Collins verified that it came out of an old cabin that used to be on the farm up until a few years ago."

Lisbon remembered that Jane had said he had information about Thomas. Could be more details about what happened to him.

"Jane tried to tell me about Agent Thomas but I told him it could wait until tomorrow. By then we should have some preliminary forensic reports to read as well" Lisbon added.

"Well with Gus in custody, we can wait for the rest of the story until morning. I expect someone will have sent a signal to Fred Murdoch to lie low in Mexico, at least for now. Border authorities have been notified and the moment he tries to cross back into the States we'll nab him."

"Sounds good Cho. If we can get Murdoch to turn on his suppliers and other customers, this will turn out to be a very large bust."

"We can hope" Cho smiled, getting up again. He and Lisbon went back into the room to check on Jane, who was still sleeping soundly.

"Tell him I was here will you?" Cho asked Teresa.

"Will do. I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for coming Cho."

"Bye."

With Cho's exit, Teresa bent over her sleeping man and kissed his cheek, causing him to mumble something unintelligible. It was late, and the race around Red Mesa was finally catching up to Lisbon. Seeing that Jane would be down for the night, she slipped out of his room and made her way back to her hotel for a much needed rest.

(ICU)

A guard stood at attention outside the ICU unit, carefully scrutinizing everyone who entered. No one was going to get near Gus unless he was a doctor, nurse or the cops. Gus was heavily sedated, a breathing tube swish swishing as oxygen was pumped into his lungs. A heavy dressing was wrapped around his thin chest and over his shoulder where the bullet had ravaged his body. While he was sedated now and harmless, it might be a different scenario when the drugs wore off and he once again started to seek out his son Ben. No blond man of a certain age would be exempt from his scrutiny. Hospital staff who would be tending to him had been informed of his mental issues and only dark haired nurses and doctors would care for him until he was safely locked up in a cell. Until he awoke, all was calm tonight.

(Lost Wells - Morning)

Abbott had stayed at the motel overnight and was packing to leave for Houston. The motel would close for a few days while Maggie, Maisie and Jillie were in Houston. Now that the FBI was pulling out of town to let the local police force wrap up the case, there weren't any new customers to worry about anyway. Perhaps when the scandal had died down more travellers would pull into the motel for a rest, but for now, it could remain closed.

As Dennis loaded his belongings into the SUV, Maisie walked Mrs. Collins over to the car, trailed by Maggie. She had stayed in her room ever since she returned from the farm. Except for Maisie checking up on her every so often, she preferred to process everything that had happened on her own, for now. She knew the Agents would want to talk to her and she was apprehensive about that, but with Maisie by her side she knew she could do it. Maisie had explained that what she told the Agents about Mr. Jane and Gus could do a lot of good, so that made it all so much easier to bear. Life had been so confusing lately, but somehow she had come through it a lot stronger, and much wiser. Maybe now Maisie wouldn't be quite so protective of her, might let her be a grown up for a change…

"Good morning Mrs. Collins. I hope you got some rest last night" Abbott said affably, seeing the old woman approach with nervousness.

"Yes, as well as I could hope for I guess" she answered politely. She liked this big man. He seemed kind and generous and so she was not afraid of him. What she was afraid of was what she would see once she got to the hospital and was allowed in to visit her husband. Would he still be her Gus, somewhere deep inside all that confusion? That's what had kept her awake last night.

"We'll drive a short distance then get onto the chopper just outside town. I hope it isn't too scary for you. The ride can be quite thrilling" Abbott said, trying to find a positive in all this misery.

Jillie took Abbott's hand as he guided her into the large vehicle. "I've always wanted to go for a ride in a helicopter. I guess it's never too late to do something new" she smiled.

"No it isn't. We'll be in Houston soon, then you can see your husband."

"Thank you Agent Abbott, for letting me come with you. For being so kind and understanding, to me, and to Gus. He's not well" she said softly.

"Yes Ma'am" was all Dennis could say to that.

"We'll follow in the car and meet you in Houston at the hospital Jillie" Maisie said as the car began to back out of the parking lot. "See you soon!"

(Houston General Hospital)

Jane had been awake since dawn, his drug induced sleep having long ago dissipated. What he needed now was a great cup of tea and something, anything, to eat. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and waited to see who would be coming through his door. Judging from the noise emanating from the hall, the day was in full swing. The sound of food carts banging down the hallway indicated the arrival of meals and he could well imagine some lukewarm beige lump in a bowl being delivered to his bedside very soon. The next person he wanted to see was Teresa, but after a 10 minute wait, the door swung open and a student nurse entered carrying a breakfast tray. While hospital food often left much to be desired, Jane hungrily lifted the tray lid and gazed at the offerings awaiting him. An apple juice, cold cereal, milk, lukewarm tea, a yoghurt and a biscuit. Hmmm… Not completely tragic. He could manage most of this until he got sprung out of there and found a decent meal somewhere else. The juice was downed with pleasure, its sweetness and coolness much appreciated. Jane was not a fan of cold cereal but his hunger forced him to consider it. Just as he was about to pour the milk into the bowl the door opened again and Teresa entered, carrying a bag of goodies much more suited to Jane's palate.

"Good morning Patrick!" she beamed, stepping up to her man to plant a kiss on his smiling lips.

"It is now" he murmured. "You saved me from all this" he said, indicating his breakfast tray with disdain.

"I thought you might like something else. How about a fresh croissant, plum jelly, a blueberry muffin with butter and Earl Grey tea?"

"Yes please!"

Lisbon moved the breakfast tray to another table and set up Jane's new meal, with enough for her as well. Taking a few minutes to savour the delicious repast, they both settled down to eat together. When the croissants were gone and Jane's muffin was being buttered by Teresa, Jane sipped his tea and smiled. Until his wrist healed, Teresa would be doing a lot more of the food prep. That would be interesting.

"Thank you for this."

"You're welcome. Any word on when you can leave?"

Jane shook his head. The doctor hadn't been in yet and he was the one to determine whether Jane could safely leave the hospital today. There was no real reason to keep him as he was not in any danger.

"I'm hoping to get out of here by noon at the latest. I'll need some help getting around though, at least until the swelling goes down in my ankle."

"For the short term you can use a wheelchair…"

"Ugh!"

"For which you should be grateful! Then when you can put some weight on your foot we'll get you a cane. It's either that or you stay cooped up in a hotel room until we finish the investigation here in Houston. You choose" Lisbon said seriously. She knew Jane's pride would take a hit if he had to be pushed around in a wheelchair, but such was life.

"Okay okay. Anything to get outta here" he smirked, biting into his blueberry muffin with relish.

"How's the arm? Hurting much?"

Jane wiped his mouth with a napkin and gazed at his heavily plastered left arm. It hurt like hell. So did his ankle. Whatever drugs they had given him last night had finally worn off.

"Yeah, it hurts. Feels like someone rearranged every bone and nerve ending in there with a jackhammer. I could use a Tylenol or something."

"I'm sorry Patrick. Your arm took a beating yesterday, and it'll take a while to calm down. I'm sure the doctor will prescribe something for the pain when he releases you later today. Can you hold on for a while?"

Grimacing as he moved his heavy arm to another position on the mattress, any pretense of stoicism was dropped.

"Good. Hang on just a bit longer Patrick."

The door opened quietly and a nurse came in carrying a small cup with a pill in it.

"How are you this morning Mr. Jane? Are you in much pain?"

"Feels like a tiger chewed on my wrist. Can I have something to settle it down?" he admitted.

"Coming right up" the nurse indicated, holding up the paper cup holding his meds. "The tissue inside your arm is very inflamed right now and will need time to get back to normal. This will tide you over until the doctor writes a prescription for you. He should be in soon." She gave Patrick his pill which he washed down with his tea. Smiling at Teresa, the young nurse left quietly and Jane picked up his muffin again.

"Sounds like I will get sprung after all" Jane grinned, relaxing as the medication rolled through his body, killing the pain impulses to his brain. Five minutes later, he could feel the full effect of the medicine. "Ahhh...that's better."

Teresa finished up her breakfast and then cleared up the debris while Jane watched her with appreciation. She came back and settled in a worn leather chair beside the bed.

"So, before your surgery last night you mentioned something about Agent Thomas. What did you find out at the Collins farm?" she asked, turning on a small tape recorder to give to Cho later.

Sighing at the memory of that tense conversation, Jane recounted how Gus admitted killing Agent Thomas when he discovered the pit with someone inside.

"Agent Thomas had gone to the farm with Gus to help deliver furniture that the Collins's bought at auction. He wandered around the property while Gus went inside to get payment for him. When Gus got outside, Thomas had already put two and two together and knew he was dealing with a kidnapper at the very least. But Gus thought Thomas was there to scope out the farm."

"Why would he think that, and why would that lead him to kill Agent Thomas?" Lisbon asked.

"Gus told me that his land was worth a fortune. He had convinced himself that there was oil under his farm and that when I, Ben, took over the farm, I would be a rich man."

Teresa nodded in understanding. Gus was more deluded than she had anticipated.

"Makes sense that he would feel threatened by Thomas if he thought he was really there to case the farm for his own use. I guess we'll never know if Agent Thomas told Gus about what he'd discovered in the pit."

"No. Just snooping around was enough for him to be killed. Whether or not he accused Mr. Collins of being a kidnapper, he was an enemy just for being too nosey. Gus shot him in the back and took his body out into the desert for disposal. That was his preferred method of hiding the bodies."

"It worked for a long time."

"It did. Shooting Thomas was necessary to get rid of a nuisance, someone who would squeal to the police about Gus's doings on the farm, but usually Gus preferred to interrogate the men he took and find out if they were Ben or just an imposter. Like me, apparently."

"And of course, they were all imposters…" Teresa added, imagining the scene play out time and time again.

"As soon as it became clear to Gus that the man he had taken couldn't answer his questions about Ben, the farm, his life out there, he was dispatched with a blow to the head and an injection of drugs. He'd be dead before he was dragged to the truck" Jane continued.

"So how did you manage to survive the test Gus set up for you?"

Jane took Teresa's hand and squeezed it gratefully "You. You saved me Teresa."

Teresa looked confused. How did she influence Gus that day, at that dangerous moment?

"What did I do? I wasn't there Patrick!"

"No, thank goodness, you were far away and safe. Remember you had a visit with Maisie outside the motel that night a few days ago and she told you about the car accident that Ben and Maggie had? All the details you told me later on were what saved me. Gus grilled me on Ben's life at the farm, and I managed to fake my way through those questions, but when it came to the accident, you had given me enough information about the blue convertible, the accident, Ben and Maggie's relationship, to talk my way out of a one way trip to the bottom of that dry riverbed. So, thank you. It was you who saved my life...twice actually, counting stopping Gus from giving me an overdose."

Lisbon listened to this with a dawning awareness that her innocent conversation with Maisie had been so vitally important to Jane's survival. If she had not joined Maisie to chat that night, Jane would have died at the farm for sure. A chill ran up her spine at the thought of the randomness of it all.

"I don't know what to say Jane. So much hinged on that conversation…"

"Yes, it did. But you took the time to speak to Maisie and you ended up helping Maisie and me at the same time."

Gazing at Teresa, Patrick could see that this revelation had rocked her. If she had stayed inside the motel room while he and Cho went into town, none of this would have turned out so well. He needed to lighten the mood.

"How's Maggie holding up?"

"I have no idea. Abbott's flying in today with . Maisie and Maggie will follow by car. Maybe you'll get a chance to speak to Maggie while she's here in Houston. Shall I try to arrange that for you?"

"If Maggie is OK with that, then yes. We both need to discuss what we saw out there in Lost Wells if she's ever going to trust men again."

"Alright. With luck you can get over to the FBI office here in Houston before the day is finished. See Calderone and Abbott and check on the latest the investigation has turned up. Then, you need to rest" Teresa smiled.

"Yes Ma'am!" Patrick saluted. Anything to get out of this bed.

Teresa stayed until the staff needed to come in and give Jane a checkup, then she found the ICU to see how Gus was doing. Maybe by the time she got back to Patrick he would know if he could leave soon.

The ICU was bustling with activity when she arrived. Showing her badge she passed the Agent on duty and found a nurse to ask after Mr. Collins.

"He woke up a little while ago. His pain is under control but he was distressed about the breathing tube. The doctor will remove it this morning and see how Mr. Collins handles breathing on his own" the woman explained. That was all she was allowed to pass on to Agent Lisbon without the consent of the patient or his family. At least Gus was alive and getting better. In a day or two perhaps he could be interrogated safely. The case was moving along well, with the benefit of Jane as a first-hand witness to Gus's madness and his methods of killing people.

A trial, if one even happened, might be in front of a judge alone. A jury would not necessarily be needed if it was proven that Gus was incapacitated by mental illness. In that case he would most likely spend the remaining days of his life in a maximum security facility for the criminally insane. Not a happy ending for his life but a better option than the death penalty. Lisbon made her way back to the floor where Jane was being cared for. When she pushed open his door, a doctor was standing by his bed examining him.

"Oh! Sorry! I can come back!" Teresa blurted out in embarrassment. The doctor waved her inside, finished with his physical exam.

"Sorry to interrupt Doctor" Lisbon apologized again as she stepped into the room.

"It's fine, we're almost done here" the doctor said kindly.

"This is Agent Teresa Lisbon, my partner at work and in life" Jane explained succinctly, taking Lisbon by surprise. That sounded very nice!

"Agent Lisbon, pleased to meet you" the doctor said, shaking her hand. "Mr. Jane is doing very well and I think he can leave today once the paperwork is completed. We can help you make arrangements for a wheelchair until his foot is able to take some weight. Shouldn't be too long if he doesn't overdo it."

"And my arm? How long until the cast can come off and I can use it again?"

"Your arm originally had a nice simple break, but the added jostling and damage to nerves that you suffered will slow the recovery down by a couple of weeks. Give yourself a good 8 to 9 weeks for everything to knit together and heal. When you get home to Austin check in with the Fracture Clinic at your local hospital and they will let you know when the cast can come off. Then, physical therapy will get everything moving again. Sorry but it will take time."

"We've got plenty of that fortunately. Thank you doctor" Teresa smiled, happy to take her man out of there as soon as possible. Bruises covered Jane's torso and his face had a large green bruise on the side of his jaw where Gus had punched him. A scattering of stitches closed the wound on the top of his head and his ear had a large scab forming on the spot where the sharp rock from the Mesa had scored his earlobe. But it could have been so much worse. He was alive and mentally alert. Everything else was going to heal with time and care.

"A nurse will be in soon with some paperwork to sign and instructions for care, and then, you can get dressed and be on your way. Take care Mr. Jane, you too Agent Lisbon" the doctor smiled as he shook hands with both of them. Then he left to care for his other patients, leaving Jane beaming at Teresa.

"I'll let Abbott know you got sprung" she laughed, pulling out her phone. Jane reached out with his good hand and pulled her in close.

"Abbott can wait. Come here…" he said, kissing her deeply and lovingly. "And there's plenty more where that came from my dear…"


	22. Apologies Times Two

Almost there! Another chapter or two and this story is done. Happy Friday everyone!

Return to Me

Chapter 22

Apologies Times Two

The flight to Houston in an FBI helicopter was both thrilling and sad for Jillie Collins. While a ride in the chopper should have been the highlight of her rather simple and dull life, each mile they sailed through in the blue sky brought her closer to the man she knew had committed a terrible crime against Patrick Jane. Gus's other crimes were as yet unknown to her, and when the realization hit her that her husband had been capable of doing all that harm to so many innocent men, it would almost kill her. But that was yet to come. For now, she had to take this day moment by moment. When Maisie and Maggie were finally by her side, whatever she found out from the police about her husband's activities would be easier to bear.

"We're almost there Mrs. Collins" Dennis Abbott spoke into his microphone. The small woman looked dwarfed by the huge headset that she wore to hear the conversations swirling around her. Abbott and the other agents wisely kept their discussions bland and unrelated to the case. Mrs. Collins needed to be informed about the extent of Gus's crimes when she was on the ground and in a safe environment.

"Will someone help me get to the hospital Agent Abbott?" the old woman asked.

"Leave it to me. We'll get you there Ma'am."

"Thank you. You've been so kind."

"My pleasure. Look! Down there! That's Houston" Abbott told Jillie, pointing out the skyline and points of interest. With his gentle conversation, she relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the ride until they touched down. A car was waiting to take Abbott and Mrs. Collins to the hospital, while the other agents took a car back to the FBI building.

20 minutes later the long black car pulled up outside the hospital entrance and Dennis helped Jillie out of the car. Together they walked into the impressive building and made their way up to the ICU unit. The guard on duty checked Abbott's credentials and then issued both he and Jillie a pass to go into Gus's room. It was all so intimidating for the woman, and when she saw her husband so still and pale against the white bedsheets, she let out a small cry of distress. Quickly taking a chair and guiding Mrs. Collins into it, Abbott stood at the doorway to give her some privacy with her husband. The breathing tube had been removed and he was sedated, but awake. A restraint held him down on the bed so that he could not attempt an escape. Even though he was too sick to even try to get away from the hospital, the FBI were taking no chances.

A nurse came in and warned Jillie and Gus to limit their talking as his throat was raw from the breathing tube. They would only be allowed to visit for 5 minutes.

"Jillie darlin'? Is that you?" Gus said softly, his throat sore and scratchy.

"Yes Gus. I'm here. How are you feelin'?"

"Poorly. Real poorly. I got shot."

"Yes Gus, I know. You took that man away and the police found you. If you had only stopped…" she started to say, but Gus cut her off.

"He was a faker darlin'. A liar. He wasn't Ben after all!" he wheezed out, still convinced he had done the right thing. "I had to kill him."

Abbott heard everything being said and knew that Gus would stick to his belief system no matter what. They had been correct to take extra precautions to protect the staff. Jillie was shocked to hear her man say such a terrible thing, as if he was discussing the weather. He had really planned to kill that nice man!

"Gus, please! You know Ben is dead. You must know that by now! That man had to lie to you to stay alive but you tried to kill him anyway! You have to stop all this nonsense Gus!"

Gus became agitated at his wife as she was not supporting him at all. Didn't she know what he was trying to do? Couldn't she appreciate how hard it was for him to find the right man, the real Ben in an endless field of imposters?

"Jillie! They all lied to me! I had to kill'em all! Serves them right! As soon as I get outta here I'll show you what I mean, where they're all lyin' dead in the desert. All liars and imposters!" he tried to scream, but his throat was too raw and it came out as a pathetic rattle. As his pulse rate increased with agitation, an alarm sounded and nurses swept into the room, ushering Jillie out while they calmed Gus down. Abbott took Jillie by the arm and guided her out into the hallway, away from the drama in Gus's room. It was all too much for the woman and she finally broke. As she dissolved in tears, Jillie leaned into the big man's chest and cried like a baby. As old as she was, she needed someone bigger and stronger than her to soothe her broken heart.

"Come Mrs. Collins, sit. Rest and I'll stay with you" Dennis said softly.

Mrs. Collins sobbed until the tears slowed down and she raised her head. Wiping her eyes with a large pink hankie, she stared at her lined and wrinkled hands and felt...empty. Although her husband was alive, she knew she was now, finally, and irrevocably, alone. Gus would never come home, and Ben was dead. A huge weight settled on her slim shoulders and she felt a cold hollowness fill her being.

"My Gus tried to kill that man, didn't he?" she asked Abbott.

"Yes Mrs. Collins, he did."

"How is he, that blond man? What is his name again?" She was so upset she could no longer remember if she had ever learned his true identity. "I still don't know exactly what happened to him."

"His name is Patrick Jane and he survived. Mr. Collins kidnapped him and threw him into a pit at the back of your farm, breaking Mr. Jane's arm. Mr. Jane came to Lost Wells to try to solve a case for us about other missing men, and that's why he came to the attention of your husband. When Mr. Collins discovered that Mr. Jane was not your son Ben, he planned to kill him and dispose of his body in the desert" Abbott told her, as she had to find out at some point. Jillie let that shocking news sink in and gave it some thought. A burgeoning fear whispered in her mind.

"There were more, weren't there? More men" Jillie asked, staring at Abbott dry eyed and suddenly calm.

"I'm afraid there were several men who died after they met your husband. We are in the process of identifying their remains right now."

Jillie nodded slowly. While she tidied up the house, did her baking, sang along with her favourite singers on the radio, her husband was killing men in her own backyard. It took all her strength not to fall on the floor and retreat into a safe place, mentally far away from this hall, this hospital, this city and this fate. But she was strong. She had always been much stronger than Gus. She had dealt with Ben's death realistically, deciding that she had to carry on and live for him, to keep his memory alive through helping Maggie deal with life. But Gus…

Gus had let Ben's death overshadow his life to such an extent, that both men died that night when Ben's convertible flipped over. It took this long for Jillie to figure it all out.

"Agent Abbott, if I can help you identify those other poor souls, I'd like to try. Maybe I saw them in town, or they came to the farm and I met them. Any way I can help...you let me know."

"I will definitely let you help. Thank you Mrs. Collins. Now, would you like to have a coffee or a cup of tea in the cafeteria? I don't think the staff will let us go back in to see Gus for a while."

"Yes, that would be lovely, thank you Agent Abbott." Jillie stood up and straightened her back, squared her shoulders, and walked with as much dignity as she could muster. Her husband was mentally ill, and a danger to society, but she loved him still. She'd be back at his bedside as soon as the nurses would allow it.

Jane had thrown his feet over the side of the bed and let Lisbon help him into his boxers and a loose fitting pair of pants that would slide over his foot. Ooohing and ahhing as the motion jerked his tender ankle, he hissed in pain as he forced himself to get dressed. Once his pants were on, he raised his arms as well as he could and Lisbon slid his sleeve over his cast, folding the cuff back to his elbow, then helped him slide his other arm into the remaining sleeve.

"I think T-shirts might be the way to go for a while Patrick" she mumbled as she buttoned his shirt up. "This is taking way too long."

"I could be a middle-aged James Dean, blue jeans and white T-shirt. Sounds sexy to me."

"Sounds sexy to me too Mister" Teresa grinned, smoothing his shirt down and running her fingers through his tousled hair. "You got a comb?"

"Not here. Just tame it down a bit and we'll fix it later" he said, holding onto her waist with his free hand. "Thank you for helping me get dressed. This is going to be a challenge for a while."

"We'll figure it out together. The foot will heal soon and once your arm stops hurting it will just be a nuisance, that's all."

A nurse tapped on the door and brought in several sheets of paper for Jane, explaining his after-care, his prescription for pain medication, and his release paperwork. Once he had read everything and signed on the dotted line, he was a free man.

"Calderone thought it would be easier to bring in a wheelchair from the FBI medical unit instead of renting a chair from the hospital. When you can get around without it, it goes back to the FBI."

"Good idea. When will it arrive?"

Lisbon consulted her watch and smiled. "Just about now I expect. Cho said he'd bring it along with him when he came over today. Should be here soon."

Jane stood up and hopped on his one good foot to a chair beside the bed, while Lisbon collected his few belongings. As she finished up, the door opened and Cho pushed in Jane's wheelchair.

"Your limo Sir" he smiled.

"Not a Hummer?" Jane teased, standing up and hopping over to the chair with Teresa's help.

"Sorry, we only had Volkswagens available" Cho played along. "But it rolls and gets from A to B so take what you can get. All set to leave here?"

"Absolutely. Are we going to the FBI building first before the hotel? I want to speak to Calderone and Abbott."

Cho pushed Jane as Lisbon held the door open.

"Abbott's here with Mrs. Collins. They flew in this morning from Lost Wells so that she could see Gus before he gets taken into custody" Cho explained.

"Could I speak to Jillie before we leave?" Jane asked. Lisbon looked at Cho and nodded imperceptibly. She was fine with Jane speaking to Mrs. Collins if it helped both of them move forward.

"Let me text Dennis and see where they are. I'm sure that would be fine with him."

They made their way downstairs and entered the vestibule just as Cho's phone pinged with Abbott's reply. He and Mrs. Collins were in the cafeteria, straight ahead. He wanted them to join him.

Five minutes later Cho pushed Jane into the caf and found Abbott waiting for them. Jillie gazed at Jane and broke out in a broad smile. Standing up to greet him, she shook his hand and kissed his cheek.

"I'm happy to see you looking so well, considering…" she said, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Thank you Mrs. Collins."

Jane looked at Cho, Lisbon and Abbott and signalled that he wanted to be alone with the old woman. The three agents discreetly found the coffee station and then sat at a table on the other side of the room.

"Mr. Jane. I feel I need to apologize for everything you've suffered at the hands of my husband. Gus just wasn't in his right mind to do all that to you, I hope you can believe me!"

"Jillie...may I call you Jillie?" Jane began. "I don't blame you for anything so you don't need to apologize. When we met in your house, it was under very stressful conditions. By then your husband had already taken me off the street, sure that I was Ben or an imposter. I want to apologize to you. I had to pretend to be your son to stay alive. Calling you my mother when I knew it was a lie, trying to convince you that I was Ben, alive and back from the grave….it was a terrible lie. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Jillie felt a tear slide down her cheek. This dear man was so hurt and showed the suffering he had endured at the hands of her husband and yet he was apologizing to her!

"It's OK….really. Mr. Jane, I knew all along that you were not my Ben. I also knew that Gus wasn't acting right in the head and he had his gun in his hand. I had to play my part too. I guess we did what we had to do to stay safe. So you don't need to apologize either."

Jane smiled a crinkly smile and held Jillie's hand. "Thank you for that. How is Gus today?"

Jillie sat back and looked wistful. How was he? He was crazy.

"He's awake and getting better, but he still thinks Ben's out there somewhere, waiting to be found. He's a danger to himself and other people. He's going to jail, isn't he?"

Sighing deeply, Jane knew he couldn't predict what a Judge might do, but he was fairly certain that a prison cell was not the place for Gus once he was well again.

"The justice system will study all of the evidence that the investigation reveals, and will take Gus's dementia into account. If he is in fact mentally incapable of telling fantasy from reality, he'll be taken into a secure mental facility for the criminally insane. For him that would be a much kinder outcome than prison."

Jillie let this sink in. Gus was mentally ill. He might not go to jail but to a hospital of some sort. She could live with that outcome if it kept other people, herself included, safe.

"Yes, yes. That would be better for Gus. Thank you Mr. Jane. For your honesty. I was so innocent for so long, so hopeful that I could take care of Gus and make him better...but now I know I can't do that. He needs help."

Jane looked over to Abbott and smiled, indicating they could come back and join them. "Are you going to be OK today here in Houston?" Jane asked Jillie.

"Oh yes. Maggie and Maisie are driving here from Lost Wells and will stay with me until we can all go home again. I'll be fine" she smiled. For the first time since this all happened she actually believed what she was saying.

"Good. Then I'll be on my way. My doctor and my girlfriend want me to rest. I better do as I'm told!" Jane joked as Lisbon appeared by his side.

"Absolutely correct. You need to take it easy and I'm here to make that happen. Take care Mrs. Collins" Lisbon said, shaking the old woman's hand.

"You take care of your man. He's a keeper" Jillie said while winking at Jane. "See you soon I hope."

"Yes Ma'am" Jane nodded, adopting the Texas slang. Cho and Lisbon left Abbott behind at the cafeteria and made their way to the large black FBI SUV parked at the curb. Cho helped Jane up and into the front seat while Lisbon sat behind in the back seat, her hand resting on Jane's shoulder. She wanted to be as close to him as possible.

"Where to?" Cho asked.

"Hotel/FBI" came the garbled answers from Jane and Lisbon.

"I want to see Calderone" Jane said to Lisbon.

"You should go to the hotel and rest. You just got out of the hospital!"

"Phfft! I can rest later but now, now I need to speak to Calderone and fill him in on what happened. All of it."

"I told him what you told me Jane. Can't the rest wait for a while?"

"Yes. It can. But I'd rather just get it over with and then relax without that debriefing hanging over my head. Then we can go home...to Austin. Sound like a deal?" he said, hoping to persuade her.

Cho looked at Lisbon out of the corner of his eye. She was going to fold...Jane was going to win. Like usual.

"Ok, but then we go to the hotel and you lie down on the bed and do nothing. Got that?" she insisted.

'Score one for me' Cho said to himself.

"Absolutely, total nothingness. Resting, sleeping, resting, nothing. Got it!" Jane teased Teresa.

Jane settled back with a smug grin on his face while Teresa looked out of the window as downtown Houston rolled by. With a bit of luck, maybe Jane's plan would work out. Maybe they would be on their way to Austin soon. She could only hope.


	23. Almost Home

I think there will only be one more chapter after this one, kind of an epilogue. Thank you for sticking around for the fun!

Return to Me

Chapter 23

Almost Home

Abbott escorted Mrs. Collins back to the ICU where they waited until the staff let the woman back in to see her husband. Gus had been sedated slightly in the hope of preventing him from getting upset again should the topic of his son come up. While Jillie went in to see Gus, Dennis got on his phone and got an update on the case from Calderone. The remains of the murdered men were being identified, with Sam Hunt already confirmed from his dental records. The other unknown men would have to be identified based on searching the FBI database for missing men not previously assumed to have been in the area of Lost Wells, then it would be a process of elimination based on age, dental records and DNA samples. Some of the men would go unidentified for a few weeks more, but over the next few days two more bodies would have names attached to them.

Gus was still in no shape to face an interrogation, but once he was, it was expected that his righteous indignation would lead him to speak freely about the men he had killed because they had dared to look like Ben but turned out to be 'imposters'. For Gus, his need to explain why they had to die would be self-incrimination, not that he understood that anymore. His mental deterioration was such that it would be fairly easy to get the whole story out of him over the next few weeks. He wasn't trying to lie or defend himself, instead he wanted to talk, to convince the agents of the rightness of his cause. Sad as his condition was, it made the work of the FBI so much easier to complete on this odd case.

Jillie sat next to Gus and picked up his hand, running her finger over the wrinkled skin on the back of his hand. He looked so small, like an ancient bird under the white bedsheets. His gunshot wound was nasty looking and drainage tubes stuck out of the heavy dressing covering his shoulder. He would need to stay in the hospital for a while yet, until he could be moved safely to a new facility.

"How are you now Gus?" Jillie asked, leaning over him to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Better darlin. Were you here already today?"

"Yes Gus, about an hour ago. You were upset so I left to give you time to calm down."

"Ahhh yes, I forgot. Is Maggie here with you Jilllie?"

"Not yet darlin'. She's on her way to Houston with Maisie."

"Houston? Am I in Houston?" Gus asked, thinking for the first time about where he was and how he got here.

"Yes Gus, you were flown here in a helicopter by the FBI. They saved your life after you got shot."

Gus let this sink in and he gradually remembered what happened out there at Red Mesa. He was just about to inject a lethal overdose into that bastard's arm when someone told him to stop. What happened next?

"I had him Jillie! I caught that lyin' bastard and stopped him out there in the desert….did he die?"

Jillie stiffened at his harsh words. He was so far gone he had no idea how offensive his words were to her gentle nature. She had to try to get through to him.

"Gus, that man didn't die. You hurt him real bad, but he's alive, thanks to the FBI stopping you. Gus, you have to stop all this nonsense about looking for Ben! Ben is dead and has been for years."

Before she could continue, Gus turned his head away from her and cursed. As far as he was concerned, she just didn't understand anything.

"Gus Collins! You look at me when I'm talkin' to you!" Jillie barked, angry and sad that her husband was slipping away from her. Gus turned back and stared at his defiant little wife. She had never raised her voice to him in over 48 years of marriage!

"Now you listen to me Gus! That man is very nice, a very nice person, and you kidnapped him off the street and hurt him and tried to kill him. Now I know that you did that to other men too. None of those men deserved to die Gus, because our Ben is gone! He's in heaven Gus and you have to accept that."

Gus tried to sit up and yelped in shock when his shoulder sent shards of pain through his body. The restraining belt around his middle kept him from moving off his bed. His face contorted in anger and hatred aimed at his faithful wife.

"Get out! Get out and stay out! You don't love Ben! If you loved your boy you'd want him to come back home woman! I'm doin' all this for you Jillie but you just don't care! Get the hell outta here!" he screamed as Jillie jumped up in alarm. Staff poured into the room and guided the small woman out as Gus spewed curses and filth at her retreating form.

A nurse sat Jillie down outside the ICU room while staff subdued Gus once more with a much stronger sedative. Clearly he could not be left alone with friends or family again. His dementia had ratcheted up to a new degree of hatefulness and madness. wept hard for her husband and their now lost marriage. She loved him, always would, even now as he lost sight of who he was, and who she was to him. The nurse sat with Jillie and kept her company until someone could come and stay with her. A call was put out to a hospital Chaplain and soon he sat with the shattered old woman, helping her until her friends arrived.

(Houston FBI)

Lisbon pushed Jane's wheelchair across the polished floor in the lobby of the sombre FBI building with Cho beside her. Calderone had already signed all three agents in and now came to meet them personally.

As soon as he saw Jane he came straight over and stood in front of the injured man.

"Mr. Jane, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again. How are you feeling?"

"Agent Calderone" Jane said, shaking his hand. "All things considered, I'm alright. Glad to be a free man again, so to speak" he said, pointing to the wheelchair.

"Well I wish you a speedy recovery. You know you didn't have to come in today. We can do this another time, when you feel better" Calderone offered, seeing how tired Jane looked.

"That's what we tried to tell him" Cho said, looking amused at Jane's expense. "But he wants to get this over with."

"I can't say that I blame you Mr. Jane. This has been a mess right from day one. We found Sam Hunt's body between the other skeletons. Now we just have to determine who else was killed over the last few months."

Calderone escorted the Austin agents up to his floor and helped Lisbon and Jane off the elevator. Together with Cho, all four entered a small conference room.

"I can have a tray of coffee or tea brought in if you like" Calderone said, pushing a button under the desk.

"Tea please. The stuff they give you in the hospital should be declared an environmental hazard" Jane said with chagrin as he wheeled up to the large table.

"Don't I know it! Their coffee isn't much better" Calderone agreed, all too familiar with the dreck the agents had to drink whenever they had to spend time in the hospital. As soon as coffee and tea had been brought into the room, Cho and Lisbon took their drinks and left, giving Calderone and Jane a chance to talk without interruption. Placing a tape recorder on the table between them, Calderone sat down opposite to Jane and gave him time to sip his tea until he seemed ready to talk.

"Shall we get this over with?" Jane said, putting down his cup a few minutes later.

Nodding his head, Calderone switched on the recording device and took out his prepared questions.

"Debriefing session with Consultant Patrick Jane of the Austin FBI" he said into the machine, also stating the day and date for future reference.

"Thank you for coming today " the agent began. "Let it be noted that Mr. Jane has just been released from the hospital and is still suffering the effects of a broken arm, a sprained ankle and various bruises and contusions as a result of his contact with Gus Collins."

Jane smiled and relaxed. Just a bit longer and he would be reclining on a soft bed in a hotel not too far away, preferably with Teresa in his arms.

"Mr. Jane, can you tell me why you were in Lost Wells Texas?"

Jane spelled out, for the record, how he had been asked to come with Lisbon and Cho to help with the case of the missing men.

"Mr. Jane, can you tell me what happened the day you were kidnapped by Gus Collins?"

Jane thought back to that day, not so long ago, and how it had almost lead to his death.

"I was staying at the Mercury Motel with Agents Cho and Lisbon. We were in town to speak with local residents and discover anything we could about the missing men. I took a walk that day to the end of the street running past the motel. There's a monument on the corner of the block that caught my eye and I stopped to read the inscription. There was the occasional car or truck that drove by so I paid no attention when I heard a truck stop on the road behind me. Before I could stand up and walk away I was hit over the head with something and knocked out. I believe it was the butt of a rifle owned by Gus Collins. When I came to, I was in a pit in the ground with a broken arm. I found out the pit was on the farm owned by Gus Collins and based on the remains of food scraps in the pit, it was where he kept other victims until he let them out to kill them."

"What did Mr. Collins want with you? Why do you suppose you were chosen?"

Jane sipped his tea again and had to surmise why he had been taken and not someone else that day.

"I think I fit a profile he had developed in his mind. He was looking for a man who resembled his long dead son Ben. Ben was blond and about my build, and might have looked something like me before he died. All of the men were of a similar description except for Agent Thomas. Perhaps Gus Collins saw me talking to Maisie Lyons at the motel and thought I was Ben. Maybe that was enough convince him that he'd finally come home again."

"Can you tell me if Gus Collins mentioned Agent Robert Thomas to you? Why he killed him?"

"Gus was gloating about the men he killed, was quite proud of himself actually. After I managed to convince him I was Ben, he voluntarily told me about Agent Thomas and how he'd killed him. Thomas had come out to the farm to help move in some estate furniture that Gus bought at auction. While Gus was in the house Thomas discovered the pit on the farm and put two and two together about the other missing men. There was a confrontation and Gus admitted to me that he shot Agent Thomas in the back, then dumped his body in the desert. I knew that's where I would end up if I couldn't keep up the charade that I was Ben."

"How did you manage to make Mr. Collins believe you were his son since you clearly aren't that much like him" Calderone asked, more curious than needing this information.

Jane smiled and nodded towards Teresa through the glass wall as she stood and chatted with Cho.

"I'm alive today because Agent Lisbon spoke to Maisie Lyons about her sister, the accident she had and the life she had had with Ben before the accident. The information she gave me was just enough for me to use to convince Gus that I was Ben. I described the blue convertible Ben drove the night of the crash, where Ben and Maggie had gone, and enough other bits and pieces of trivia to make it seem like they were my memories. I had to explain why I wasn't dead. That was tricky but Gus needed to believe, so no matter what I told him by that point he would have swallowed it hook line and sinker. Without that information from Agent Lisbon, Gus Collins would have killed me that same day."

"Why did it all unravel?"

Jane sighed regretfully. Poor Maggie had been caught up in that awful day and saw things she shouldn't have.

"It was Maggie Lyons. She had come out to the farm to pay Gus and Jillie a visit. As soon as she walked into the house my luck ran out. I was exhausted and fell asleep on the sofa after calling Lisbon for help. Gus told her that I was Ben, expecting her to be thrilled, but Maggie is no fool. Even though she had no idea what was going on, she had to tell him the truth as she understood it, and the truth was that I was not Ben."

"Did she know that you were an officer of the law?"

"Yes. In all innocence, she told Gus I was an FBI agent. Things didn't go so well after that."

"That's an understatement" Calderone said solemnly.

Jane continued. "Once he realized I'd lied to him Gus dragged me out to his truck and tied me up, threw me in the back and drove out into the desert. I think you know the rest."

"Yes. We do. Now we just have to piece together the histories of his other victims before we can consider this case closed. And in the process we'll take down a drug runner supplying a network we knew nothing about. Thank you for your help, Mr. Jane. I'm sorry it led to you being victimized yourself."

"I seem to attract kidnappers I'm afraid" was all Jane could say in return, since it was true.

"We'll have a conversation with Mrs. Collins and Maggie Lyons in the next day or two once Gus is out of the woods, and then we should be able to wrap things up. Thank you for coming in today Mr. Jane. Feel better soon."

Calderone stood up and leaned over to shake Jane's hand. Patrick paused and stopped Calderone from stepping away.

"Please go easy on the ladies. Maggie is dealing with a lot, so maybe have her sister sit with her while you interview her. And Jillie Collins...she's a sweet woman. Please be kind to her. She had no idea what her husband was doing out there." The intensity of Jane's glare let Calderone know he meant every word he said. He wanted those two women protected from any more hurt.

"I understand. We will be gentle with both of them, don't worry. I agree with you Mr. Jane, Mrs. Collins has suffered enough."

Jane smiled and grabbed a wheel with his one good hand as he tried to roll away from the table. His attempts to wheel himself backwards and around towards the door turned into a challenge as he started to go in circles. Calderone opened the door and signalled Lisbon, who quickly came over to help Jane navigate the narrow space.

"Agent Cho, Agent Lisbon, thank you for coming today. I'll keep Abbott informed of the latest details of the case. Your help was much appreciated. Mr. Jane, get well soon. The next time we meet I hope you are up and on your feet again!" said Calderone heartily.

As they said their goodbyes Cho's phone dinged and he saw a text from Abbott. While they descended to the lobby he read out the text for Teresa and Patrick.

"Abbott is on his way to the hotel. Gus Collins became abusive and violent when his wife tried to talk to him. He's been sedated and will remain under watch until he is moved. Maisie arrived with Maggie and they will take Jillie to a hotel in the city for a day or two, until they know how Gus is doing."

"Where will Gus go when he's released from the hospital?" Lisbon asked.

"Someplace safe, secure, with a medical wing. Maybe the prison outside Houston until his trial, then I expect he'll be placed in a facility for the criminally insane."

"The best outcome we could hope for I guess" Teresa said sadly.

"The only outcome" Jane said sternly. "He's dangerous. Even Jillie isn't safe around him now. He needs to be kept away from anyone else that he could harm."

The elevator doors slid open and Teresa pushed Patrick after Cho towards the front entrance. As they finally got seated in the car Patrick yawned behind his hand, his fatigue and the need for a pain pill finally catching up to him.

"I think I'll have that lie down now Teresa" he said softly as he laid his head back against the headrest.

"Good idea Patrick. No more work for you today. Cho, can you take us to our hotel?"

"Yes Ma'am" he grinned and sped away into Houston traffic. Whatever happened now was in the hands of the Houston FBI. Jane just wanted to go home.


	24. Epilogue

Well this is it, the last chapter. All's well that ends well. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review. You make this so much more fun! I hope it won't be too long before inspiration strikes and I find another story to tell about our favourite Mentalist characters!

Return to Me

Chapter 24

Epilogue:

From Bad to Good Memories

The trip to their hotel was mercifully short and soon Cho had disappeared into his room for a video chat with his team back in Austin. Teresa wheeled Jane out of the elevator on the 10th floor and found their room, which he had not seen yet. Once inside he was pleasantly surprised that their room had been upgraded from the first one they had stayed in when they arrived in Houston several days ago. That seemed like weeks ago now, in hindsight.

"Whooo...very nice!" Jane whistled as he took in the roomy accommodations featuring a separate bedroom off a living room plus a kitchenette.

"Who do we have to thank for this?" he asked as he lifted himself out of the wheelchair into a comfy leather recliner.

"You can thank Abbott and Calderone. After everything you've gone through they felt you should have a comfortable suite to recover in until you're ready to fly home."

"Remind me to thank them both" Jane grinned, slipping his shoe off his foot. Lisbon was busy in the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a sandwich tray, mixed cheeses and fruit and hot tea.

"Lunch?"

"Mmm..looks good. When did you arrange this?"

"While you were in with Calderone I called room service bring up a tray for us. I didn't want to have to deal with a restaurant right now. OK with you?"

"Come here" Jane smiled, reaching out for Teresa as she placed the tray on the coffee table close by. "I missed you" he sighed, putting his hand behind her head and bringing her face down to his for a lingering kiss. "And yes, everything is OK now. All I really needed was you."

Teresa blushed and returned his kiss with passion. "And you'll always have me. The sandwiches are extra."

A laugh bubbled up behind Jane's kiss and he pulled back to stare at his lovely woman.

"All the kisses I can handle, a buffet and a bed just waiting to be christened. Talk about extras!"

"Down boy! Let's eat and then into bed with you. You're looking a little wilted around the edges" Lisbon teased him, but showed concern for his tiredness. Stifling a yawn behind his hand, Jane reached for a sandwich and some grapes while Lisbon pulled a chair up close beside him.

"Tea?"

"Please. And bed does sound appealing. Will you join me? The last sleep I had was constantly interrupted by nurses telling me to go back to sleep" Jane groused.

"I'd like that. And we might even get around to sleeping too" she said enticingly.

"Keep talking like that and I won't be able to finish lunch" Jane warned her, noting a wicked gleam in her eye.

"OK. Food first, then tea, then bed. What comes up next is up to us."

"Oh Teresa...really? What comes up?"

Teresa laughed into her sandwich and peered at Patrick over the edge of her napkin. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"Randy minx" Jane mumbled as he lunged for her and buried his face in her cleavage. As he made to embrace her his broken arm bumped into the side of his chair and elicited a loud yelp of pain from him.

"You OK?" Teresa asked as she dropped her food onto the tray and went to him. "Do you need a pain pill?"

Jane nodded silently and pointed to his jacket pocket. As he reached for his tea Lisbon put a pill into his palm.

"You have to be careful until that bone starts to knit Patrick."

"So I keep discovering." He swallowed his pain medication and sat back with a sigh.

"This is going to severely impact my attempts to ravish you my dear" he said with chagrin.

Teresa smiled a salacious smile and popped a strawberry into her mouth, taking her time to tease Patrick with it.

"I intend to do all the ravishing Mister. All you have to do is lay back and enjoy. Think you can handle that?"

Jane pushed his food away and tried to stand up on his one foot.

"Oh I can do that. But if you keep teasing me like this we may not make it into the bedroom."

Noting the bulge tenting the front of his pants, Teresa laughed and went to Patrick's aid.

"All right then...let me help you before it's too late" Teresa smiled, grabbing Jane around his waist.

"Lean on me and let me take your weight. Just take little hops and we'll be there soon" she said as she guided him into the large bedroom. She helped Patrick ease down onto the bed then swung his legs up onto the mattress.

"Be careful what you wish for" Teresa said softly.

What followed was a long languorous disrobing of her man, which only served to increase his excitement and desire for Teresa. She paused as she unzipped his pants, making the moment last until he begged her to just pull them off. Next she shimmied them down his legs. By the time she had Jane naked he was beside himself with lust. Next she took her clothes off in a slow strip tease and climbed onto the bed, starting at the foot of the mattress. As she slowly climbed up the bed she paused to kiss Jane, starting at his wrapped and swollen foot, then his muscled calves, next his knees, then she ran her hands along the length of his thighs and kissed them gently.

"Oh woman…" Patrick groaned, the tension building quickly.

"Ssshhhh!" she whispered as she continued up until she had her face buried in the soft hair above his pubis. Another moan told her that her plan to make him fully aroused was working. Leaving his groin, she promised that she'd get back to that zone in a minute. She continued her trek up his body, kissing his flat abdomen and navel, before she slid further up to caress his hardened nipples. Flicking Patrick's nipple with her tongue she laved it for a few minutes then turned her attention to his other nipple. As he became more and more aroused Teresa kissed his throat, deeply behind his ear and then stuck her tongue into his ear, causing an audible gasp to explode from his throat.

"Sorry, am I hurting you? We can stop if you like?" she teased Jane, seeing he was on the brink of losing control.

"No! Don't stop! For God's sake woman!" was all he could manage before she kissed his lips, plunging her tongue into his mouth to stifle his protests. He was completely at her mercy and she liked it. As she eased herself on top of him she began to grind her body slowly against his erection as he guided her with his hand on her hip. Both were in a state of complete concentration, beholden to what their bodies dictated. As they moved, a gentle rhythm began and their need to consummate their love reached its zenith. Teresa knew Patrick was tired and wouldn't be up to a long session of lovemaking, so she reached down and guided a more than ready Patrick into her core. They resumed their gentle pumping, giving and receiving moment to moment until Patrick came in a rush of desire. They remained locked together as Teresa resumed her grinding on his slick body until she climaxed in a shuddering burst of passion. As they both came down from their sexual high, Teresa rolled off Patrick and lay next to him, curled up into his body. Not a word was spoken, the moment too wonderful to need interpretation. They both fell asleep, completely relaxed and unencumbered by fear for the first time in days. When Teresa woke up a half hour later, she slid out of bed and showered while Patrick remained deeply asleep, aided by his pain meds. When he awoke she would help him into the shower and would again, assist him any way he needed her. Between sex, food and showers, they would remake their bad memories of Houston into great new memories.

The next few days were taken up with meetings, reviews of new evidence that had surfaced and news that Gus Collins was well enough to be moved to a prison hospital. Jillie had seen him a few more times but finally returned to Lost Wells with Maisie and Maggie.

Maggie had been interviewed by Abbott, whom she trusted and felt safe with, Maisie by her side. She had very little to add to the information Jane had given Calderone but her testimony would add background and context to Gus's deteriorating mental condition. Jillie also spoke with Abbott and confirmed that she knew nothing of Gus's murderous activities even though she knew his mind was playing tricks on him.

By weeks end, Calderone was informed that Agent Thomas's body had been identified and his remains would be sent to his family. A small ceremony in his honour was held at the Houston FBI headquarters before Abbott, Cho, Lisbon and Jane flew home.

Over the next several days, another three murder victims were identified. Steve Robinson, a backpacker, John Noble, a salesman from out of state, and Ken Burbage, a medical student who bore a striking resemblance to Ben, were all identified. Burbage was missing the longest period of time and Calderone came to believe that Gus Collins began his murderous spree after meeting Burbage at a gas station outside of Lost Wells. When this man who looked so much like Ben had rejected Gus's overtures, he had been killed and dumped in the desert, the first of many more victims over the next several months.

Jane was able to get up on his weak ankle by the time they flew back to Austin the next Monday. His broken wrist was healing well and would need another 6 weeks in the cast before it could be removed and physiotherapy started. He used that time to read and visit the library as well as sit in on cases at the Austin FBI office. The only thing he did not do was go out into the field with the team, as there was no way he could defend himself or run away from danger if he encountered any problems with a suspect. For that, Lisbon was grateful. Knowing he was safe back at the office made her days far less stressful.

When he was well enough to be examined, a psychiatric review at the prison confirmed Gus's declining mental state, and in time, a judge would rule in favour of incarceration in a state mental facility for the criminally insane. Knowing Gus would never come home again, Jillie sold the farm. It didn't fetch the huge amount of money Gus believed it was worth, but it was a big enough payday to support Jillie for the rest of her life. She sold off most of her large pieces of furniture and moved to a little apartment in Lost Wells, not far from the motel where Maisie and Maggie continued to work. Jillie came over to visit often, helping around their house by baking bread, pies and cakes, some of which she made sure the guests of the motel enjoyed. She continued to visit Gus whenever she could, but in time he no longer knew her and refused to see her at all. By the end of the year he died, as confused and tormented as ever, sure that Ben was just around the corner, waiting to be brought home.

As for Jillie, upon notification of Gus's death, she said a silent prayer that he had finally been reunited with his beloved son.


End file.
